Guardia Chronicles: Mahou Shounen Takeru
by Kibou no Hane
Summary: First Book of Guardia Chronicles.  Takeru is a mage sent to Japan to train and goes on a journey to find his true potentials, and perhaps love?  Prologue to ch. 11 redone
1. Prologue

It was a cold, wintry afternoon. The sky filled wholly by layers upon layers of grey. Powerful waves of gale howled relentlessly across the desolate countryside, carrying within it tiny shards of ice which mercilessly bit at any exposed skin. Along the horizon of this sparsely populated region sat a lonely frontier town. The intense weather dyed the town's hue as grey and dull as the sky above. Pulling a little closer to the little town's walls, there sat a large wooden gate. Above the gate words were etched deeply into its large stones: The Town of Justice, established under the thirty-sixth year of Our Lord Erius, the Fifteenth King of Guardia.

Relentless winds deterred all travelers except for those brave of heart. While said, a tall, hooded figure hastily traversed through the deserted streets. As he walked his long black cloak fluttered incessantly in the cold winter gale. Silvery breath protruded from his body cavities as he exhaled warmth into the icy winds. He shuddered at the unforgiving cold, and if he was any normal person, he would have given in to the cold and retreated to the warmth of a home or inn. But he was no ordinary person. He was here with a mission, a sole objective to find something that is of great value to him. With this in mind he persisted on until he reached the town square. The usually cheerful, noisy plaza was quiet and lonely today. With that said, the cloaked man halted in front of a large, grey building. Snow began to fall as another wave of freezing wind blew in. He looked up at the massive structure before him, fixated his glance on the sign that read in Guardian letters 'Justice Town Library.' "This must be the place," he muttered, and without delay entered through its tall wooden gate.

The librarian, a plump middle aged blonde, dozed off at the left side of the stone great hall. A sign-in list laid on the front desk dated to January 17, 1999. The stone-built library was the only impressive structure of the town. It was chartered and built under the educational decree of King Theonisius Avalon of Guardia after he promised to spread education into even the most remote parts of the kingdom. The structure was built solely of stone, which under the blasts of cruel winds, grew uncomfortably cold. And the unfortunate librarian, who obtained this untimely shift through the loss of a bet with his friends, had to suffer the bone-chilling coldness from the lack of heat. No fire but the few candles that burned in the great hall was allowed for fear of conflagration that might consume the library collections. The man thus relied heavily on wine to keep warm, and due to its effect became sleepy and drifted off into a slumber. Thus he took no notice of the loud sound of opening and closing of the front gate.

The hooded figure inwardly celebrated his good fortune, for he was truly at lost as to how to deal with the librarian, who might pose as a hindrance to his objective. Sneaking past the sleeping figure, he headed for the history section of the main library. He took a few moments to search through the books under the section "Biographies and Nonfictional Records." It took some effort, since some of the books were without a title, and there were enough in the section to keep him busy. The book he is searching for turned out to be lying in the farthest shelf to the right, under piles of other irrelevant spell tomes and history texts. He sighed as he moved aside the books unimportant to his search, cursing at what little effort the librarians put in to organize their collections. After digging for ten minutes, he finally freed it from the pile. The title read:

~_Wings of Justice, the Interview_~

_Seems people had gotten to this before me, wonder what they needed it for? _the person thought. He opened the diary and quickly scanned it. On the inside he found what he had come for, in the section that began with a photograph of a certain blonde man. The man was in his early twenties at best, and underneath the photo, before the biography of his life up until the present, read _Yamato Victor Dansforth Takaishi_. The hooded man found it interesting that a couple of kids would become so famous over such short span of time, and kept reading on, making notes of all the details he would need. As he flipped a few more pages a newspaper clipping fell onto the floor. As he picked up the clipping, he inspected it closely and found it to be an article about the end of the Demon War and the celebration at the capital Ostia. A picture was at the end of the article; it was a picture of six youngsters, no more than early twenties, receiving an award from the newly formed Elder Council. Under the picture was a caption: 'Receiving the award is the young group of mages who called themselves the Wings of Justice. The award for the courageous and valiant deeds they had done during the war for the devastated population.' Upon finishing, he placed the article back into the book and went on reading the rest of the biography.

As the hooded figure reached the last pages, he noticed a sudden disturbance in the atmosphere around him. Another, who emerged only a second ago, now stood at the room's entrance. "Who are you?" inquired the formerly sleeping librarian, his staff raised.

The figure chuckled as he shut the book, and slowly turned around. "You really should have stayed asleep. It would've saved both of us a lot of trouble," he replied.

"_Answer my question!_"  
"And you think yourself to be worthy to ask me my name?"  
"Why you..." the librarian retorted indignantly. Two seconds later a powerful jet of gale shot at the intruder. The hooded figure, taken by surprised, nevertheless dodged the spell with ease. The missed spell crashed into the book shelf and ripped at library's collection, throwing torn pages and broken chips of book covers into the air, showered the room.

"Whew…that was close. You really should be careful where you shoot that thing. There are some collections here that can't be replaced!" taunted the hooded man half-heartedly, apparently not fazed one bit by the librarian's display of prowess, which only served to anger the plump man even more.

"I'll have you know I was once an officer in the mage division of the II Legio Etruria during the war. So if you know what it's good for you, surrender yourself and lower your hood!"

"II Etruria, huh? The cohort that was continuously defeated by the Dracian invasion force? No wonder the best you can do is blow up bookcases."

"You…little…I'm gonna _kill you!_" said the librarian as he shot forth yet another strong gale, only to be again evaded easily by his opposition. This time, however, the hooded figure grew a little careless, and his hood was blown back by the air current, revealing to the now smirking librarian his face. But having seen the true identity of his opponent, he exclaimed, his own face quickly grew from that of delight to horror. "What...? No way…but...you're supposed to be dead?"  
"Oh? It seems that few know that I still live. Then again I don't blame you guys. However this may work very well into my advantage," said the figure calmly, his voice no longer cheerful now his identity has been revealed. "Unfortunately, peasant, you would have to die here. If you have to blame anything blame your misfortune and your stupidity for challenging me..." And even before he finished, crimson flames had begun gathered around the blonde librarian's sides. "...burn bright, and bath the earth in thy crimson might! _Hellfire!_" The attack came so quick, so fast, that there was not even time to conjure up a simple defense shield. The last thing the librarian saw with his eyes was his own body being rapidly incinerated and the cold, blood red eyes of his decimator. The fire from the spell quickly consumed the books lying around in vicinity, and within minutes the whole library was set ablaze, its collections now lost forever to posterity.

The now un-hooded figure left the flames unhindered and walked out calmly before the town's population gathered around the burning building to witness the atrocity. In his right hand were the essential pages he had torn from the book he read. He stopped momentarily, turned around, and looked at the destruction that he had unnecessarily done. His countenance was pale, and his spiky, tan hair wavered as yet another cold gale blew through the town. "Too bad, it was a nice library too. I should probably refrain from destroying buildings my ancestors worked hard to have built from now on…" he muttered his reflection absentmindedly to himself, and turned around to disappear into the shadows of the coming night.


	2. Character Listing and Timeline

**Character Listing**

Major Characters:

Takeru Winston Dansforth Takaishi (Takaishi Takeru) – Protagonist of the story. 17-year-old half Japanese and the second son of the Takaishi family. Graduated from Corneria magical Academy and was assigned as apprentice mage to train in Japan by the Magic Board of Education. Transfered in as a first year student at Kiromachi High and took residence at the Yagami Inn. Fell for Hikari at first sight, an attraction which he mistook for friendship up until much later.

DOB: June 21, 1990

Yagami Hikari - 17-year-old manager of the Yagami Inn. A girl with no past. Currently a first year student in Kiromachi High School. Due to her attractive features and gentle manners, she became very popular among the male students in Kiromachi High. While it is unclear whether her feelings for Takeru are that of friendship or romance, she certainly doesn't dislike him. She slowly becomes aware of the existence of magic.  
DOB: November 1, 1990(?)

Matsuda Sakuya - 17-year-old tenant of the Yagami Inn, Hikari's best friend, true heir of the Matsuda house, and a mage of Eastern style contrary to Takeru's Western style. She is impulsive and is at times forgetful of her limitations. However, she is very knowledgeable in magical arts and possesses abundant latent magical potential, of which she realizes as the story goes on. She is also a first year in Kiromachi High like Hikari.  
DOB: October 31, 1990

Mogusaki Amelia Dansforth Takaishi - 10-year-old half Japanese. Takeru's younger half-sister and is the only daughter of the Takaishi family. Mogusaki is born a magical prodigy and adept at everything except cooking. She has a slight brother-complex toward Takeru, but incrementally grew out of it after she met Takeshi. She is currently on her last year of Corneria Magic Academy, and will come to Kiromachi later in the story.  
DOB: January 4, 1997

Takehara Takeshi - 11-year-old orphan who and his sister were taken in by Hikari to live in the Yagami Inn some years ago. He is a solemn, hard-working child who labors hard for his sister's welfare. He holds a part time job at downtown Kiromachi in Tanaka's Grocery to support himself and his sister, Minako. After an incident, he starts looking for his own happiness, and changed for the better after he met Mogusaki.  
DOB: May 27, 1996

Minor Characters:

Rika Hallows - 16-year-old apprentice mage. She is Takeru's childhood friend, best friend, and ex-girlfriend. Possesses a strong friendship bond with him even after their breakup. Like Takeru, she is a Corneria Magic Academy graduate and now works as a traveling fortune-teller all across the British Isles.

Rinally Dansforth Laurel - 18-year-old American mage and Takeru and Mogusaki's second cousin. A mage fighter specialized in swords and alchemy. She is a member of the Etrurian Guild, a mercenary group situated in the Etrurian province in Guardia. Also comes to Kiromachi in later chapters as a hired mercenary.

Joe Quincy Weatherforth (Kido Jyou) - A former member of the Wings of Justice. He is a friend of Takeru's older brother, Yamato, and now works at Kiromachi High School as an English teacher.

Matsuda Fujitaka - Principal of Kiromachi High School. He was the disinherited heir of the Matsuda main house and the father of Matsuda Sakuya. Serve as the Magical Board of Education's Kansai region representative. He once taught for a brief time the six youngsters of the Wings of Justice.

Matsuda Takafumi – Current Head of the Matsuda household, and commands all houses under the Kinomoto clan: Matsuda, Yanagi, and Sakurai. He is Fujitaka's younger twin brother, and was made the heir after Fujitaka's disinheritance by their father. He is also Yakusa's father and Sakuya's uncle.

Matsuda Yakusa - Younger cousin of Matsuda Sakuya by a mere few minutes. She possesses uncannily similar appearance to Sakuya except for eye color, whereas Sakuya's is dark brown, hers is black. She was thus, before her cousin ran away from the main house, often mistaken as Sakuya even by family members. Unlike her cousin however, she possesses qualities of patience and conservatism, but does not have the same latent magic potential as Sakuya. She is currently the Matsuda's houses Trueblade of Thunder, and in possession of the lightning sword Seiryuu, the Matsuda's proof of heir's status. She however, wishes Sakuya to return and reclaim her status as the true heir.

Takehara Minako - Younger sister of Takehara Takeshi. She is a six-years-old orphan who came to live at Yagami Inn with her brother Takeshi with Joe Weatherforth's recommendation. A very loving child who craves her brother's company but seldom gets it because of his brother's part time job. She dislikes her brother's incessant working for her cause, and wishes for him to find his seek his own happiness.

Yamato Victor Dansforth Takaishi (Ishida Yamato) - Eldest son of the Takaishi family and older than Takeru by twelve years. He was a master swordsman of the Souten Meitsuki Style and a former member of the Wings of Justice, and when it was disbanded in 1997 (Republic Year 1) he settled down in a remote region in Guardia with his wife Bella and their newborn boy. Their village was attacked by a sudden demon raid, and he was declared dead on February 16, 2002 along with his two children, Wataru and Ayumi, although he and his kids' bodies were never found.

Bella di Smeraldo (Tachikawa Mimi) - Sister-in-law of Takeru and Mogusaki. She was a former member of the Wings of Justice, and when it was disbanded in 1997 (Republic Year 1) she settled down in a remote region in Guardia with her husband Yamato and their newborn boy. Their village was attacked by a sudden demon raid, and she was found dead on Februrary 16, 2002 and their two children, Wataru and Ayumi, was pronounced dead as well. Her husband and kids' bodies were never found.

Kuo Hsiro (Izumi Koushiro) – Former member of the Wings of Justice and an accomplished magical scholar rare for his age. He specializes in deciphering runes and ancient Guardian writing, and the art of sealing. He also possesses vast knowledge of the history of Guardia. Among the six, he was the weakest, but what he lacked in terms of raw magical prowess, he effectively remedied with the utilization of strategy, traps, trickery, and simple clever tactics. He was found dead in Sacaia's capital Sienne a few years after Yamato's family's misfortune.

Yagami Taichi – Former leader of the Wings of Justice and a practitioner of Eastern style fire magic. His sword, the blazing claymore Durandal, was famed to be capable of decimating an entire legion in one swing. When the Wings of Justice disbanded in 1997 (Republic Year 1), he and his wife Ciela parted with the other members and headed for Terra (a/n: Guardia refers to magical world where magic supposedly originated, while Terra refers to the world where Takeru and Hikari live. All members of the Wings of Justice were originally from Terra as well), but were ambushed by a force of remnant Imperial loyalist brigands. Afterwards Taichi disappeared without a trace. No one knew the outcome of the battle, but the complete devastation of the battleground suggested a fierce fight.

Ciela di Rubino (Takenouchi Sora) – Bella's older cousin, and former member of the Wings of Justice and girlfriend then wife of the famed leader Yagami Taichi. When the Wings of Justice disbanded in 1997 (Republic Year 1), she and her husband parted with the other members and headed for Terra, but were ambushed by a force of remnant Imperial loyalist brigands. Trying to shield their newborn daughter from harm, she and her baby were unfortunately killed in the action, according to later reports. 

* * *

**Timeline of the Story**

1980-1995 - Demon War and Revolutionary War of Kingdom of Guardia

March 1991 - The formation of the Wings of Justice composed of six members: Yagami Taichi, Takaishi Yamato, Ciela di Rubino, Bella di Smeraldo, Kuo Hsiro, and Joe Weatherforth.

November 1, 1993 - King Theocratus Avalon, the Queen, Prince Siderius, and the two princesses, Lunaria and Lumina assassinated.

May 2, 1995 - End of the Demon war and Revolution.

May 16, 1995 Establishment of the Elder Council to replace imperial authority, and the kingdom was replaced with the Republic of Guardia.

July 1997 - Disbanding of the Wings of Justice

January 17, 1999 - Burning of the Library of Justice Town (prologue)

February 16, 2002 - Former Wings of Justice members Takaishi Yamato and his family pronounced dead

December 3, 2007 - In an airport in London, United Kingdom, the story begins...


	3. Saying Goodbye

It was like any other sunny mid-December day. The sky was mostly clear, with only a few isolated clouds adrift. The warm sun shone brightly in the sky, gently baking at the earth below. Yes, it was a perfect day in London, United Kingdom. "Attention, all passenger of the Magus Airline bounded for Tokyo please report to Gate Nine and Three-

Quarters. I repeat..." Broadcasting on a wavelength only definable by those with magical backgrounds, the loud speaker announced through the sparsely populated terminal.

Two figures emerged from a wall concealing the path to the boarding gate. Waves rippled upon the wall surface as they passed through. An average height, seventeen-year-old boy in a plain grey sweatshirt and faded blue jeans made his way toward the gate with his heavy knapsack and other simple carry-ons. He had neck length blonde hair and marvelous blue eyes which radiated with joy and excitement for the potential adventures their owner would face in the near future. A pair of rectangular glasses hung on the nose of the young man. Resting upon his chest was a small, light blue crystal orb attached to a string that dangled about his neck. Walking alongside of him was a younger girl of around ten years. She had strawberry blonde hair tied into twintails on each side of her head. The two companions' eyes were identical, only hers filled not with joy but with sadness for his imminent departure. She wore a light brown, hooded sweatshirt with the logo 'Corneria Academy' across the center, and a blue, thigh length short skirt striped with a single gray line near the hem. The girl tightly clung on to the older boy's arm as they made their way toward the gate without a word. But once they halted, she broke silence.

"Onii-chan...do you really have to leave?" she said with somewhat teary eyes, which betrayed her desire for him to stay as he looked into them. The other blonde could not but smile affectionately. He placed one hand on his sister's head and ruffled her hair gently as condolence.

"Sorry, Mo-chan…" he said. "But the BME (Board of Magical Education) assigned me to go train in Japan. I _have_ to go. Please don't look at me with those eyes."

"But...once you leave...then I'd have to make dinner myself during winter break..." the girl named Mogusaki, shorten to Mo-chan by her elder brother, confessed the truth behind her concern.

Nervous beads of sweat swept down his cheek upon her comment. He had already experienced first-hand the destructiveness of her cooking a year ago when she decided to make dinner for the two of them. Sure he's no gourmet, and doesn't mind if things are slightly overcooked. But never before could he imagine that food could be prepared to look and be so…inedible, and that's just an understatement! "That…_is_ somewhat of a big problem. Maybe I should contact the Hallows and have them let you stay over for the holidays?"

"Well, Iris-chan offered me to stay with her family over the break, so can I do that instead?" she asked.

He considered her suggestion for a moment, "I don't see why not. It's probably better if you stayed with the Blanchimonts, actually, since Ri-chan might decide to spend the holidays in Wales with Ken and Mia-senpai. In that case don't give Felt-san and Viese-san too much trouble okay?"

"Onii-chan, I'm almost eleven and close to graduating Corneria! Can't you stop treating me like a child?" she said proudly. Although younger than her brother by a good margin of six years, little Mogusaki Amelia Dansforth Takaishi was almost on par, and even exceeding in some levels, with her brother's magical coursework. She was considered, along with her friend Iris Blanchimont, a true magic prodigy.

Takeru laughed as he patted his sister's head, "May I remind you no matter how old you are, you'll always be my _kid_ sister?"

"And may I remind _you_ that although I'm younger, I'm ten times smarter than you'll ever be?" she retorted.

He was waiting for this to come. "That insult carries no weight coming from the person who wetted her bed last weekend." He went for the ultimate comeback.

This made the ten-year-old's face completely scarlet, more so with embarrassment than with anger, "You knew that…that was an accident! I had too much water that night and fell asleep before I could go to the bathroom…" she trailed off, her hay-wired emotion clouding the ability to produce any sound comeback.

The young man chuckled at his younger sibling's indignation, "I know. I was just messing with you." and continued, "Mo-chan. Take care of yourself while I'm away okay? I know that studying comes easy for you so I won't lecture you on that. Don't forget to write to dad and Nina-san once in a while okay? Also don't forget to visit mum and Aniki's (older brother) family grave in Edinburgh. And please, please, please don't poison Iris-chan's family with your cooking." He said the last part with complete horror.

"Onii-chan you jerk, making fun of me again…" said the younger blonde.

Takeru laughed and looked into her eyes with the warmest affection he could muster, "I'm only joking, Mo-chan. I know you'll get better. After all, you're the genius of the family. Besides, cooking isn't that much different from alchemy or potion-brewing, and you're very good at both."

"Unfortunately…it seems anything that is not magically related isn't my forte…" she sighed. Her expression then fell. "Onii-chan…promise me that you'll call often, 'kay?"

"Mo-chan…" That was all he said before pulling her into a hug. Finally feeling the impact of his imminent departure, Mogusaki was unable to restrain her tears any longer. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, wishing somewhere deep inside her that if she never let go, he wouldn't have to leave. "Onii-chan..." she whimpered, her voice mostly stifled by his clothes. The young man embraced her petit figure, for he was going to miss her as much as she would him. From a tender young age these two siblings were left mostly together on their own. Five years ago, massive demon activities and the murdering of many notables and persons led to the mandatory returns of many talented and influential mages back to Guardia to address many of the problems. Mogusaki's mother Nina (How Takeru and his sister are related is a bit complex. Nina is the twin sister of Takeru's mother Nancy, who had died a few days after given birth to Takeru. Nancy gradually became aware of her sister's hidden feelings for her husband Takaishi Hiroaki, and gave them her blessing at her departure, leaving in Nina's care the young Takeru. Well, that's what their parents told them, anyways.), being the last of the House of Dansforth, a scion of the Line of Arya, was recalled to a position in the administrative bureaucracy. Hiroaki, uneasy about leaving his wife alone in Guardia, also joined her, leaving the then thirteen-year-old Takeru and six-year-old Mogusaki alone on Terra (Guardian term for Earth). They had the option of moving to America, under the invitations of the Laurels, distant relatives of their mothers'. However, they ultimately decided to stay in the British Isles, and were taken care of by the Hallows, family friend of the Takaishis that lived in the same town. But even though the Hallows treated both of them like a part of their family, Takeru sometimes still saw his sister's silent longing and desire their own parents' love. Of course, Hiroaki and Nina returned once in a while to visit them, but even these were rare and irregular. He tried his best to fill the void left by their parents, and Mogusaki also did her best to not cause her brother any worry. Thus the two developed a deep mutual dependence, which resulted in a very close and affectionate sibling relationship. Now for the first time in their lives, they were going to be separated, and Mogusaki just couldn't quite accept that fact yet.

"_Yaho_, we're here you two!" Amidst this display of sibling affection, a loud voice approached them from behind. As the two looked up, they saw four people walking towards them: two boys and two girls close to the young man's age.

"Rika, Davis, Ken-senpai, and Mia-senpai, thanks for coming! I thought you were all busy today?" the young man beamed excitedly as he and his sister broke from the embrace, although Mogusaki still held on to his arm.

"You didn't think we weren't gonna come and say goodbye did you?" said Davis Ayimotom. He had brown spiky hair and complementing brown eyes, wearing a blue Corneria Academy sweatshirt with black trousers. To the right of Davis stood Ken Ijuojihci and his bespectacled girlfriend Mia Euoni (a/n: never quite liked Miyako's dubbed name Yolie, so I'm using Mia). Ken, with his straight indigo hair and blue eyes, wore a white traveler's cloak (a symbol of Corneria's graduate division) over his grey suit and Mia, with her violet hair and brown eyes, wore similar attire to her boyfriend except she wore a knee length skirt. Next to the couple is Ricameia Hallows (Rika for short), who has a pair of gentle green eyes and long mahogany hair tied in a style similar to Mogusaki's. She too, like Davis and Takeru's sister, wore a Corneria Academy sweatshirt, of red color, and a white ankle-length dress underneath.

"Hey, Takeru," said Davis, high-spiritedly dragging Takeru to one side, out of everyone else's earshot. "We're buddies right? So while over there if you find a babe in Japan you'll have to tell me first thing alright? And don't you _dare_ forget to introduce one to me either."  
"Knowing you, Davis, I can't say I'm surprised that you'd ask me something like this. But I'll keep it in mind," replied Takeru Takaishi as he smirked, finding his friend's strange request humorous. After all this wasn't the first time he made such outlandish requests.

"Takeru-kun," next came the stately Ken, extending his hand. "As much as we hate to see you leave, good luck over there. I just want to tell you that you're the best kouhai (underclassman) anyone can ask for, and when you feel like you're alone out there, remember that you have our support from back home. Don't forget to call and write once in a while."  
"Ken-senpai, thanks. This means a lot to me." He took his outstretched hand into his own. Ken was always very helpful back in their Corneria days. Thoughtful and resourceful, he often explained complicated theories to and practiced magic with him. Takeru was very grateful of their meeting from the start, as having a smart friend was always beneficial.

"_Takeru-kun_!" Mia was next, making a victory sign with her fingers. "_Don't you forget presents when you come back okay? Presents, got it memorized?_" she demanded passionately.

"Um…o-okay...Mia-senpai..." replied Takeru. In the few years he had known Mia Euoni, her overflowing energy never ceased to amaze him. He had met her around the same time he became friends with Ken. Though too resourceful, she was nowhere as polite and quiet as her boyfriend. In fact they have completely polar personalities. While Ken was like the moon idly illuminated the night, Miyako could be said to be the sun which passionately asserted its rays over the day. Despite their different personalities, however, Ken and Mia are always on very good terms. Out of the time he had known them, he had never seen them argue even once. _Well, opposites attract, I guess,_ thought the blonde.

Mia then turned around and noticed Rika engaged in a small conversation with Takeru's sister Mogusaki. She sighed and pondered for a few seconds before her eyes lit. Takeru stood before her, oblivious to what was to happen next.  
It happened in an instant. Mia suddenly phased in between Rika and Mogusaki, scaring the living hell out of both them. "Senpai? What's going on?" asked a very flustered Rika.

"Rika Hallow! How heartless are you so? Are you not gonna go say goodbye to your best friend in the whole entire world?" Mia demanded, as she positioned herself behind the younger teen.

"Senpai...what are you..." the next thing Rika knew she was heading toward Takeru's direction. Mia then extracted her concealed wand and began chanting as soon as she pushed Rika. "Come onto me, gentle spirits of the spring zephyr. Go forth and unleash thy forceful breeze!  
"Catch well, Takeru-kun! **Gale of Heavens**!" As the spell was finished a jet of strong wind materialized and accelerated Rika faster toward Takeru's direction. Davis and Ken, who were also engaged in their own conversation, saw her rapid approach from the corner of their eyes, and were barely able to jump out of the way before seeing her mahogany hair breeze past. Takeru thought of dodging as well, but valued his friend's safety over his, and decided to stand ground. He then proceeded to be knocked off-balance by his incoming friend, and was able to catch her in his arms. Both of them landed on the floor with a thud. Takeru was cushioned by his backpack and Rika by Takeru. When both came to their senses a few seconds later she hurriedly jumped from the awkward position and helped him up.

"Sorry, Ta-kun, are you all right?" Rika asked.

"I'm...I'm fine, Ri-chan," Takeru said, scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment and brushing off the dust with his free hand. Both of them stood up and smiled at each other sheepishly.

"...so...how have you been these days, Ri-chan?" Takeru took the initiative to break the awkward silence.

"Actually it couldn't be better! I went back to Edinburgh to meet some relatives for a few days after the graduation ceremony with mum and dad, but I'm glad I could make it back to see you leave. By the way they both give their regards to you and Mo-chan. They also asked me if she's coming back for Christmas."  
"No, Mo-chan's staying over at her friend Iris' this year I'm afraid, but please thank Mr. and Mrs. Hallow for their gracious thought. And may I say I'm truly flattered, Rika. Your being here to see me off is the best thing I can ask for," Takeru said with a genuine smile.

"Oh come on now, how long have we known each other, basically ever since we're born? It'd be much weirder if I'm _not_ here to see you off. Not even after-" she would have continued, but was stopped by the spectacled blonde.

He sighed with a hint of regret, avoiding her eyes "Don't say anymore, I know. Though I must tell you that I was afraid our friendship had come to an end. I'm sorry that I wasn't the better man."

Seeing her oldest friend still beating himself up, she cupped his cheeks with her hands, forcefully fixating his ocean blue eyes to her emerald ones. "Listen to me, Ta-kun. We were both at fault, so please stop trying to take all the blame onto yourself. If you don't I'd feel even more guilty than I do already. I did the wrong thing by ignoring you the rest of the term. I was just so tired and unreasonable during those days, with the graduation exams going on and everything, and I didn't mean any of the things I said. I mean, we did promise that we'd always be friends no matter what ever since we're little, right?" she assured him. "Now, can you still love me as your friend?"

Hearing his friend's assurance, any of the lingering uneasiness he still held toward her disappeared without a trace. "That depends Ri-chan, are you still gonna hug me and kiss me like before?" he joked.

The pleasant foolishness of her ex-boyfriend's remark reduced the mahogany-haired youth into laughter. Takeru also joined in, and pulled his best friend in the whole entire world into the biggest hug.

As the two best friends chattered on, Ken and Davis again engaged in their own conversation about Ken's current research, so only Mia and Mogusaki watched the two.

"Mia-nee, didn't Onii-chan and Ri-nee break up three months ago? How can they still talk so normally?" a very confused Mogusaki Takaishi asked, trying to make sense of the situation. In all the books she read about romances, once the relationship is broken, there's no going back to the way before. And since she had absolutely no experience in this field, she consulted Mia.

"They're a special case, those two. They have always been that way, for as long as I've known them, anyways. Their friendship is strong, so strong that it did not break even after the disastrous end to their romantic relationship. Even though they're so perfect for each other..." the older girl sighed. Some people might be the best of friends, but just could not become couples.

And, as if signifying the end to their little group congregation, the broadcaster spoke up, "Ladies and Gentleman. All passengers should now board the plane. I repeat..." Takeru gazed up toward the broadcaster, and then slowly looked from his sister to his friends with a longing look. "Well...I guess I best be going. Everyone, take care of yourselves!" He wished as he turned his back to them and walked toward the boarding gate while the five others waved and said their goodbyes.

Then something important flashed through Rika's mind, and she dashed toward Takeru's direction, calling out to him. Takeru turned around slowly and before he could react, soft lips placed themselves squarely on his own. For the next few seconds he stared into empty space wide-eyed. Everyone else also stood frozen, their mouths agape.  
Two flashes of light emitted from Takeru and Rika's pockets. It shown with a radiant light, which quickly dissipated into its surroundings as the two broke the kiss.

"You just cannot resist my charm, can you Ri-chan?" Takeru had to tease her for this.

"Ah Ta-kun, you wish. But you know it's not like that." She giggled and jabbed at his chest playfully.

"Anyways thanks, I had completely forgotten."

"Heehee, what would you do without me?" It was actually more of a statement than a question.  
A very flustered Mia then broke the conversation, "Wait a minute you two! What was that all about? Is there something you two haven't told us?"

Rika gave her senpai a weird look, and moved her right hand to her pocket to draw out a still faintly glowing card. As the glow faded, a picture of Takeru and some Guardian inscriptions were revealed. In the center was Takeru, wielding a golden blade (A/N: I'll leave you to imagine what he looks like in the picture). Under the picture was the inscription of Takeru Takaishi in Guardian. "It's a contract renewal, senpai."  
"Oh...I see..." Mia calmed down, "you could have told us sooner, to save the confusion."  
"I would have, but you were so fast to assume things that I didn't have the time."  
"Oh...ahaha…" Mia attempted to laugh it off.  
Mogusaki was the next to speak up, eager with questions of her own, "Um…What's a contract renewal?" Though she might be knowledgeable in many magical fields, she was still only ten after all, and there were plenty of things she did not yet know.

"You know how a mage can make a provisional contract with another person right?" Mia explained. Seeing Mogusaki's nod, she continued. "Well a provisional contract expires every three years, and has to be renewed before it could again be used in full function. It's a pain, but that's because it is not permanent."  
Ken added on, "Provisional contract is a way to prematurely decide who your partner is going to be. The relationship between the Magister, the contract initiator, and Ministra, the disciple, is most important when making and maintaining a contract. And since you can only make one Binding Contract, or the permanent form with only one another, by using provisional contracts to screen your compatibility with your partners you can see who will best fit you in any types of situation, not necessarily only in combat."

"Then is it basically like finding a romantic interest?" asked the spectacled blonde's curious sister.

"Well, something like that, since you are trying to search for someone that you'd want to spend lots of time with," Rika added.

"And nowadays it is not rare for those who hold binding contracts to end up getting married," said Takeru.

Davis looked to his friends with mad eyes, "You guys didn't leave me anything to say!" His remark reduced everyone to laughter.

"Onii-chan, how many times have you renewed your contract?" Mogusaki asked curiously when the laughter died down.

Her sudden inquiry got Takeru to ponder for a bit, "Um...I think this is our third time."  
Upon hearing this, Mogusaki became wide-eyed, "So many times already?"  
"We made it when we were seven...we heard about it from my parents and thought it would be fun..." Rika said the last part with a pint of embarrassment.

"Did you guys make it with the mindset that you're gonna one day get married?" asked again the persistent little sister.

"Well…" answered Takeru, unsure of how to form his words. "I'm not really sure exactly _why_ we did it. It's just that she and I knew each other for so long that there's no reason _not_ to do it. Besides, we were just kids back then. Like Rika said, we thought it might be fun."

"And as you can see in the example with me and Ta-kun, just because you're in a contract with another doesn't necessary mean you're perfectly compatible with him or her. But again it's all part of the process. It's no big deal, really. Not every contract has to be lasting, after all," said Rika, trying to clear Mogusaki's fixation that each contract had to be perfect.

"Are you implying that our contract isn't a good match, my dear Rika?" asked Takeru, feinting indignation.

"Well, while you are a good Ministra, it definitely wasn't a perfect match, don't you think so?" said the spectacled blonde's ex-girlfriend, seeing right through his farce.

"I think you guys are a great match. Why don't you guys get married? You two always look so happy together, and you've known each other for years!" remarked the innocent ten-year-old Mogusaki. Her sudden remark left the two older teens dumbstruck, unable to answer her while the others laughed at Mogusaki's innocent persistence. For one, like the other members of the group, both of them also wondered why they hadn't given each other another chance. Whenever they were together, it seems so natural. And sure they both love each other, as friends and maybe more. But something just never feels right. _Perhaps it's because we're too close, that it's like dating a sibling._ Takeru had come to this conclusion some times after the relationship came to a close. Somewhere deep inside his heart, he just knew that Rika wasn't the one. That didn't mean he didn't love her with all his heart, though. It's just that it would never exceed the boundary of close friendship, or more fittingly, that of family.

"Alright, save your questions for the time when you're going to make a contract, Mo-chan. And may that time be sometimes _far_ off in the future." No matter how liberal his views were he was still Mogusaki's over-protective older brother, after all. He walked to the guard to hand him his ticket. The guard checked it and bid him a good trip. The spectacled blonde then turned around. "Well guys...I'm off! Take care...I'll miss you all!"  
With that Mogusaki, Rika, Ken, Davis, and Mia all loudly bid goodbyes to their friend/brother. "_Bye Takeru_!" "_Have a safe trip!_" "_Write often!_" "_Bye Onii-chan!_"  
Taking one final look at his friends, Takeru turned around and walked into the gate.

Twenty minutes later a pure white plane accelerated toward the sky and disappeared into the clouds. On it was Takeru as he started his adventure.


	4. Yagami Inn

The setting now arrived at a little quiet Japanese town, not too vibrant yet not too small. This little town in the southern parts of the Land of the Rising Sun was mostly surrounded by forests and hills on its borders, and because of its remote location, became a somewhat attractive spot for tourists seeking naturalist retreats. As such, the town was able to survive even with its remoteness, creating a culture that is somewhat simple and laid back. The recent modernization of the downtown district, however, began to change that as the town became a more desired place to live. The rapid expansion of housing, to accommodate the rising immigrant numbers, introduced a new lively and busy aspect, yet somehow it was still able to retain some part of its quietness and tranquility that visitors and indigenes alike cherished. This little town's name was Kiromachi, literally the "Crossroad Town." Due to the aforementioned rapid modernization, the town indeed was beginning to live up to its name, as more and more travelers take their time to visit during their vacations. The influx of people into the town placed a strain on the residential district, since the older townspeople voted not to disturb the surrounding forests. The residential area was thus packed tightly with houses of at least three stories high, and the streets and walls of concrete created a labyrinth in which if one were not familiar with the area, he could be lost for a good hour. Such a situation coincidentally occurred to a certain unfortunate young blonde male, who struggled to walk on carrying his heavy knapsack and a bag full of essentials in his right hand.

Takaishi Takeru, after leaving the airport in Tokyo the night before, took the earliest morning Shinkansen to Kyoto. He then transited by bus from Kyoto to Nara, getting off at the midway stop Kiromachi. It was about nine o'clock when he stepped off onto the platform of the residential district's bus station. The December sun shone quite warmly today, so he wore only a gray sweatshirt and a pair of faded jeans.

"Whew...this is getting nowhere..." Takeru muttered as he panted. "Let's see...I remember that nice old lady on the bus told me it was this way..."

What he was searching for was the famous indigenous inn, Yagami-sou, situated at a high point in the residential district. As one of the older facilities, it existed well before the recent modernization began, and was labeled to be one of the many historical attractions of this town. By the referral and insistence of his contact here in Japan, Takeru was to live there as a tenant during his training period. _The manager sounded real nice over the phone. I hope I will be able to get along with the rest of the tenants,_ he thought happily as he came to a fork. Not really making sense of the old lady's instructions, he decided to take the right, and walked on for another good fifteen minutes before he halted, panting and too tired to walk on. The ascending terrain made the residential part of town hilly, which could be very daunting for those unused to it. Now Takeru was by no means unfit, but this was beginning to be a little too much for him, since he was mostly just wondering around aimlessly.

"Man, this would have been a lot easier if I could use magic, don't you think so too, Raging Gale?" As Takeru said this, the azure crystal necklace dangling from his neck shone with brilliant light for a brief moment, as if acknowledging its master's statement. By contract, mages outside of certain designated zones were not allowed to invoke magic unless one, they came under attack and their lives were in danger, two, they had special authorization from the overseer of the specific district, or three, they deem that the threat which they encountered could result in wide destruction if the threat was not checked. As his situation fit none of the above three conditions, Takeru had no choice but to walk. He retreated to the side and placed down his bag to take out a piece of paper, on it was the directions given to him from his contact, from his jeans' left pocket. He moved his right hand to his face and nudged his glasses into place to get a better focus.

"Let's see...turn right at the light, left at the park, right onto the stairs..." Takeru read each line carefully, yet as he perused the paper a haunting thought plague the back of his mind. A minute later he folded the piece of paper and stuffed it back deeply into his pocket. "I'm lost..." he said, defeated, and fell onto his bags for a momentary rest, thinking of what he should do next. He had no way of contacting the manager since he had not the chance to purchase a cellphone yet. He thought of the possibility of using a payphone, but this was the residential district, so no shops save those at the bottom of the hill were opened here. At the moment, he was stuck, unable to carry on. A while later he unintentionally dozed off as the warm winter sun shone softly upon his countenance, his jetlag fatigue finally catching up with him.

Time passed swiftly as the young man remained in the state of repose. It was still quite early in the Saturday morning so no one passed by to disturb his rest. An unknown amount of time passed by before Takeru snapped out of his dreamland. As he opened his eyes he made out the outline of a figure squatting in front of him, observing silently his sleeping face. He rubbed his eyes to focus his vision, only to see that in front of him was a girl, most likely around the same age as he. The young lady had pale, flowing, waist-length brown hair that she fixed near the end with a ribbon. She wore a light, kimono-like blue robe over her green sweater, complemented with a light brown, knee-length skirt and a pair of long, white socks. A pair of sandals she wore on her feet, and when Takeru's eyes finally regained their focus he realized he was staring straight into a pair of glowing, ruby red orbs staring right back into his own ocean blue eyes.

"Sleeping in the street is bad for you, Stranger-san, especially when it is already winter," said the girl in a soft, mellow voice. She slowly stood up, and picked up the broomstick she had placed beside her from the ground. With a smile, she offered her hand to Takeru. He took the small, pale hand, and raised himself up slowly. Standing up, the blonde measured her to be at least a head shorter than he. Shaking off the last bit of his drowsiness, he turned to the girl. "Thanks you, miss." He said in fluent Japanese, and thought thankfully to his father's teaching him Japanese in the past, for he never imagined that it would become necessary. With his Japanese basis and Raging Gale's passive translation magic he was able to converse fluently in the oriental language.

"Glad I could be of your assistance. Just to bother you with one thing though, have you seen a seventeen-year-old foreigner walking around by any chance?" she asked. "I was supposed to meet with him about an hour ago, but he didn't show up. So I'm walking around to see if I can bump into him by chance."

"Um...no, I haven't seen anyone like that," Takeru replied. "Can you describe him in more detail?"

"Well, from the phone call he said he had blonde hair and blue eyes, was seventeen years old and stood about six feet high. He will also be carrying with him a knapsack and another bag…" she trailed off as the person standing in front of her began to more and more fit her description. "…and he said that his name is Takaishi."

"Takaishi? Why would a foreigner have a Japanese name? But what coincidence, that's my name too!" Takeru chirped happily, before the realization finally hit him like a rock. "…I guess you're talking about me then, miss?"

"Oh, are you really? Then you would be Takaishi Takeru-san?"  
"Yes, that would be my name. I'm sorry for being late. I was on time coming from the airport to here but misread the directions and got lost."  
"Please don't worry about it. It happens to all newcomers to Kiromachi. Anyways, please to be in your acquaintance, Takaishi-san. This will be our first time meeting in person. My name is Yagami, Yagami Hikari. Hikari as in light."  
"Yagami-san, is it? Wait...then that would make you..."  
"The manager of the Yagami Inn." Yagami Hikari finished for him.

"Really? ...and to think I passed you for a middle-aged lady when we talked on the phone."  
"Arah…did I really sound that old? Seems like it's true that telephone can really warp a person's voice. I guess I should have told you my age beforehand, or maybe buy a newer phone."

While they held their conversation, Takeru had already picked up his bags and began to follow the young manager. He was overjoyed by this fortunate meeting, for he was really lost as to what to do. The two walked down through the concrete street, and turned right at the next intersection. After walking for another few minutes they arrived at a long, stone staircase to their left.

"I guess...still, you're so young. How can you run an inn all by yourself?"  
The soft-spoken manager replied with a grin, "I get that question a lot." but she did not attempt to answer. Instead she took Takeru's free hand and led him up the stairs. Takeru quailed slightly at her touch, but regained his composure and allowed himself to be led by her. Her hand felt cool. Holding her hand was like feeling a piece of silk cloth, smooth and tender. Her over-friendliness made him blush a little. It reminded him of the time when Rika dragged him around from places to places when they toured London for the first time. To compare, Rika's hand felt a bit coarser than this girl's, and she was already very careful about the maintenance of her skin. _I wonder what kind of lotion she uses. Maybe I can get it as the present Mia-senpai asked for,_ he thought on the side.

"My adopted parents, the Yagamis, used to own the inn." Yagami Hikari spoke up after they had climbed a few flights of stairs. "From the day of my adoption I had lived in that place. But when they died in a car crash a few years ago I was suddenly left with the deed to the inn. I didn't want to sell it because I had so many memories there, so I decided to become its manager and have been ever since."  
"I see. What of your real parents, Yagami-san?" Takeru asked with curiosity. But to his surprised, the cheerful light on her face darkened a bit. Takeru immediately apologized, "Sorry...should I not have asked?"  
"No, Takaishi-san. It's not like that at all. It's just...I don't know anything about my past prior to the adoption. It's...kinda like that part of me never existed."  
"Oh...is that so? I'm very sorry then..." he apologized, but her answer irked at him a little. How can one just forget everything completely?

"You don't have to apologize. After all it's not important. My adopted parents loved me as their own child, so I have nothing to complain. Besides, what's in the past is in the past, there's no need to overthink things, right?" Hikari replied. Her face again became radiant with cheerful friendliness. The positive attitude she showed toward what could have been past tragedy radiated warmth to every inch of Takeru's body. Never before had he felt such warmth from anyone. It was like nothing can taint this girl's light. _She is definitely living up to her name,_ he thought.  
During their conversation they finally came to the last stair. "Well, we have finally arrived," Hikari exclaimed excitedly. "Welcome to your new home, Takaishi-san." She stretched out her hand and with a 'ta-da' motioning to the building now standing in front of them.  
The building was of old style, one-story square type with a courtyard in the middle. Red roof tiles covered the top of the building, dying the whitewashed walls with a light red hue. Contemporary style windows dotted the walls, and the main entrance consisted of a two-glass paneled door. It had a roof over, which stretched out to form a short corridor of sort toward the front to make sure that the path covered by it stays dry during rain.  
The surrounding land was all filled with flowers and bushes. A few leafless sakura trees stood tall on a large patch of grass to the sides. _The landscape is well taken care of,_ Takeru thought. True enough all of the plants looked vibrant and energetic even though it was winter.  
Hikari and Takeru passed the stone wall surrounding the premise through an iron-grid gate. Etched on the pillar of the stone wall were the three kanji characters that spelled out 'Yagami-sou' in kanji. After passing through the gate they were met by a series of stone steps that led to the extended roof of the entrance. They walked on, and upon reaching the glass door Hikari unlocked it to let them inside. Instructing him to place his shoe at the shoe cabinet, Hikari then took out a new pair of slippers for Takeru. They left their shoes behind as they stepped onto the raised platform of the wooden floor and proceeded into the building. While all of this happened they chatted merrily, learning about each other as much as possible. Hikari used the time to tell him all about the Kiromachi's features and such, and Takeru shared with her stories of his school experiences at Corneria (which he passed off as a boarding school, carefully step-toeing around anything magically related) back in the UK.

When they reached the lobby Hikari stopped, and turn to Takeru, "Why don't you rest here for a while, Takaishi-san. I'm gonna go freshen up a bit. When I'm back I'll show you the rest of the place. Is that okay?"  
"Sure thing, Kanrinin-san (Miss Manager)! Please take your time," said the blonde. Hikari then gave him a light bow and left the lobby. Takeru put down his luggage and fell back into a comfortable sofa conveniently right behind him. He then observed the lobby. It had three sofas, on one of which he now sat, that surrounding a low wooden table. The rest of the spaces were covered with pots of small plants, flowers, as well as some bonsais. In the left corner of the lobby was a big television, to which from all the sofas shows could be seen. Four large windows let in the sun from the outside, illuminating the space with light and warmth.

"Whew...I'm beat..." Takeru said to himself. "Well I _have_ been up since five o'clock. Kanrinin-san seems to be a very nice person, not to mention that she's very cute," and with that his glance fell on his left hand, which Hikari had held on to while they were climbing the stairs. Takeru continued to look at his hand with a slight blush, fantasizing a possibly more intimate relationship with her in the future, until his trail of thought was disconnected by the striking of a grandfather clock which he and Hikari passed by on their way to the lobby. He looked around for a clock nearby, and found a digital clock hanging on the wall. It read 12:59 pm.

"Almost one huh? ...it might be a bit early to call but, gotta tell everyone I've arrived safely," with that thought in mind Takeru rose from the sofa, left his stuff behind and went in search for a telephone.  
"Let's see...I remember seeing one around here somewhere..." Takeru walked on, trying to find the phone. He turned left onto another corridor just as a door open a few feet before him. If he had been absentmindedly strolling around he would have carried on right into the door ajar. But that was the least of his concern as out of the room came a girl, who he estimated to also be around the same age as he. Now, there was nothing particular special or different about this girl. She was averaged height and a bit thin, but visible muscular tone showed that she was quite fit. Her smooth, undone shoulder-length black hair draped about, dampen from her recently finished activity. _On second thought she is actually a very attractive girl, _the back of Takeru's mind registered. However, the rest of his brain went haywire, at the fact that she had come out with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her torso. And, because of the wetness still perspiring from her making the towel wet, he could, unfortunately (or is it fortunately?) see a very well defined outline of her body. Takeru's face turned bright crimson and he completely froze upon beholding the untimely sight, his mind going blank as it tried to comprehend the situation.

"Ahh...that was a nice bath! That sure took all the stress away…" chirped the carefree girl. That was before she turned to the figure next to her, and her large, deep sepia eyes fell upon Takeru, who stood only a few inches in front of her. Still a little scatterbrained from the enjoyment of her bath, it took a while before she registered the obvious awkwardness. "Um...just who..._who_…_who the hell are you?_" The girl screamed as she flung back her right hand and brought it up with full force, palming Takeru's face hard with all the force she could muster. Takeru had no time to recoil and was thrown slightly back by the force of the girl's slap. He faltered back a few steps before falling onto his rear, the sting bringing Takeru out of his trance, and his brain once again in working function.

"How _dare_ you trespass the Yagami inn! Not to mention trying to peek while I take a bath! Just what kind of sick bastard _are_ you?" the girl accused. She used her right hand to hold on to her towel securely while whipping her other hand to her side, index and middle finger extended into a hand sign. Light began to concentrate at the tip of her two fingers as a piece of paper began to materialize. The paper was golden, with black edges and sides. In the middle was a circle, and within the circle imprinted the Kanji character for Thunder, Rai.

"Wait! Wait! Listen to me! This is a total misunderstanding!" Takeru pleaded, hoping to appease the volcanic eruption that was the girl's anger in front of him. Though of course, his explanations went unheard.

"Who would take a word of a hentai! Now, _be charred to ashes!_" The girl brought the paper charm to the front of her face and chanted, "Green Dragon of the East, answer my summons. Thy seven celestial stars, Kaku Kou Tei Boushi Shin Bi Ki [角亢氐房心尾箕], descend, and become my thundering judgment!" As she finished her chant the paper charm was instantly surrounded by a radiant aura of electric sparks. The charm levitated in front of her as she readied the second phase of the spell.  
Watching her performing the spell, Takeru was stunned by her action. He hastily scrambled a few inches back, trying to gain as much distance away from the stubborn girl before him as possible. However, the girl noticed his attempt to escape. "You will _not_ escape me! Die you damn sick _pervert_!" She performed a series of hand movements, and shot two fingers forth toward the sparkling charm, which had self-positioned itself so it was perfectly aligned between her and Takeru. "Reidou no Jyuu, **Hatenrai [**霊道の十, 破天雷**] **(Spiritual Art Number Ten, Sky-Shattering Thunder)!" (a/n: Reidou is basically the exact copy of Bleach's Kidou)  
Four bolts of lightning erupted from the charm as the girl completed the spell. The bolts then merged into one large ray and traveled at light speed toward its victim. Takeru, not allowed the time for his defense, watch as the stream of deathly light rapidly approached him.


	5. Yagami Inn Continue

"Reidou no Jyuu, **Hatenrai [**霊道の十, 破天雷**] **(Spiritual Art Number Ten, Sky-Shattering Thunder)!" Upon completion, the furious young lady's jet of golden thunder raced at Takeru. A second later the lightning hit its mark, producing a loud crack noise upon impact and filling the corridor with layers of black smoke. The smoke caused the girl to cough, but she never once tore her eyes off the position where Takeru had been. Like a hawk after its prey, she eyed his position with burning fury, trying to determine whether she had hit her mark.  
As the smoke cleared, however, the girl's eyes grew wide in surprise. Radiant light became visible as the smoke began to clear, and when all visual hindrance was dissipated she saw a glowing, golden magic circle in front of her target, protecting him. The magic circle contained two squares grid within the circle. Inscription of a language unknown to her filled the space between the inner circle and outer circle. Inside the square also contained two circles with space between, with the inscriptions also filling the space between (a/n: the magic circle is a direct copy from the Round Shield used in Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, so if you still have no idea of its visuals look it up). "You're a mage too? How is it possible..." she trailed off, not understanding the why he was, like her, capable of using magic.

"Miss...this is really a misunderstanding...believe me. I was just looking for a phone down the corridor to call back home!" Takeru tried to explain again, lowering his defense to show sincerity. Nonetheless he was glad that he had been able to put up defense in time. The reflexes gained from all the training in Corneria had finally paid off. _One more, and only one more millisecond of delay,_ Takeru thought with daunting dismay, _and I would have been zapped into cinder._ He postured himself, and got ready for a possibility of a second spell from the girl, since the charm before the girl still glowed with sparkles. He didn't wish to summon his staff, not wanting to make a commotion, and decided defense magic here would be sufficient.

"And coincidentally, you happened to run into me while I don't have my clothes on? As if! You have to come up with a better excuse than _that_!"

Her comment left Takeru a little annoyed. After all it was completely, and absolutely her fault in the first place to walk into an open corridor with nothing but a towel on. The fact that she refused to listen to his explanation whatsoever was beyond belief too. How _dare_ she accuse him of something he didn't, let alone had any intention to, do? Such blatantly one-sided accusation could not be tolerated even by his easy-going standards.

"If you will not believe or listen to any explanation I have whatsoever, I have nothing else to say," Takeru commented, with hint of resentment in his tone. "I will not tolerate accusation of something that I didn't do, so I will not only be defending this time!" with that he relayed with his mind a simple binding spell to Raging Gale, who prepared and formulated the incantation ritual, and readied it for Takeru to release upon the girl.

"Damn you, you stupid pervert. I _won't_ miss the second time!" She was about to shot forth her fingers again for a second strike when a something interrupted their battle.

"Takaishi-san? Takaishi-san? Where are you?" a distraught voice echoed through the corridor as it approached. Upon hearing the voice, the girl quickly with a degree of nervousness ceased what she was doing and snatched her levitating thunder charm from the air, de-materializing it. Takeru shifted his attention toward the direction of the coming voice, wondering why the girl had the change of heart to not continue her relentless attack.  
The question was answered when Yagami Hikari emerged from the hallway, now facing the two, "Takaishi-san, there you are. I was afraid you might have run into some trouble..." Her sentence trailed off as she observed the corridor which they were in, shocked to her very core, "just...just what had happened here?"

Takeru and the girl in bath towel, not understanding what she meant, turned to look at their handy work. The walls of the once spotless corridor were now cracked by the ricochet impact from the thunder attack, with evidence of the paint peeling off. The white wall was stained grey from the smoke from places to places, leaving it to look absolutely horrific. Takeru was alarmed at the amount of damage they had done, and turned his attention back to the manager to offer his apology. The black-haired girl beat him to it, however.

"Sorry Hikari, I was just trying to catch this trespasser. I guess I got a bit carried away..." she apologized.

"So much so that you damaged the corridor? What were you using, anyways? Flamethrowers?" the young manager sighed with disbelief. "Besides, I don't see any trespasser."  
"What are you talking about? He's right in front of you! The blonde four-eye pervert!" she exclaimed.

_Not only is she haste to judge, she is also quite rude…_thought Takeru, the angry girl not making her best first impression to the bespectacled blonde.

"Sakuya-chan, I bet didn't ask before chewing him out for something he didn't do, right? He's no trespasser, he's Takaishi-san!"  
"Takaishi-san? How do you know his name? Wait...Hikari...you know this person?"  
"Yeah, he's Takaishi Takeru-san, our new tenant. I thought I told you about him along with everyone last night during dinner?"  
Upon hearing the truth from her friend's mouth, the young lady was completely dumbstruck. She then shifted to her attention toward Takeru, awaiting his testimony. Takeru, out of relief nodded, acknowledging Hikari's statement. "Oh my god!" the girl cried out and quickly bowed lowly and apologized, "I am so so so so so so sorry! I really didn't know!"  
"It's...quite all right. Like I said it's a misunderstanding," quite taken back by the girl's sudden change in attitude was Takeru, but it erased any negative bias he had formed of her earlier.

"Also to add...Sakuya-chan..." Hikari added with a worrisome look on her face, "…I know I joked about this a few days ago, saying it would be good for business if you do this more often, but just how long do you intend to expose yourself like that?"  
Upon Hikari's words, the girl named Sakuya looked down at her own wet, readily exposed body and turned bright red, flushed with embarrassment. She then quickly turned around and like the wind retreated from their presence, "Why hasn't anyone mentioned this sooner?" she shouted with embarrassment.

"She's…quite an interesting character...Who is she?" Takeru spoke up when Sakuya left them.

"That's Matsuda Sakuya, my best friend and also a tenant here." Hikari told him with a chuckle. "She's usually not this careless, but she is prone to being a little air headed at times though. Other than that she's a very nice person. I hope you don't judge her from what you saw just now. She really didn't have any ill-intentions."  
Takeru laughed, taking her words to heart. Sure having his life being threatened by an unreasonable girl was not at all fun, but he could bring himself to forgive her, since it honestly was a misunderstanding. After the episode with Sakuya the two went back to the lobby to retrieve Takeru's things. "So how many more tenants are here, Kanrinin-san?"  
"Well...if we're not counting you, me and Sakuya-chan, then four more. We occasionally do get other customers during the busy seasons, as this is one of the local attractions, but they never stay too long, as most prefer to stay at the downtown district where it's livelier. Anyways we have Shiratori-san in room 7, who took up residence here a few years ago, saying that the atmosphere here help him to write."

"Ehh? So he's an author then?"

"Yup, thought I haven't read anything he has written. But from what he told me he's done some short stories about the existence of a magical world."

Upon hearing her comment, the blonde mage did a double take for a moment. He calmed down quickly, however, concluding that it was most likely just fabrications of the author's imagination. "So you know what's he working on right now?"

"Hmm…" the manager paused to ponder. "I'm actually not too sure. Every time I talk to him about it he always says it's a copyright secret and laughs it off. You can actually ask him yourself, since he's mostly always here. You'll meet him tonight, since everyone's able to make it back."

"I see. So who else will I have the honor of meeting today?"

"Oh right. Next to Shiratori-san lives Furude-san in room 8. She's an assistant professor at university in Osaka. She often runs lab experiments there, so she's rarely home. Sakuya-chan lives in room 3 on the opposite corridor, and next to her in room 4 are the Takehara siblings, Takeshi-kun and Minako-chan. Takeshi is eleven and Minako's six."

"Such young kids living here alone? What of their parents?"

Hikari's eyes mellowed at the mentioning of their situation, "We don't know, since they're actually orphans from an orphanage in town. They were actually introduced to me by a family friend, and came to live here a little while before my parents died. And ever since my parents' death, their guardianship has passed to me, though I don't know how much of a guardian I have been to them. Shiratori-san and Furude-san, when she's around, are really supportive of me though. In the beginning it was them who vouched for my position as guardian, and have helped me keep this inn running since my parent's death."

_That explains how she is able to handle such a huge responsibility,_ Takeru thought. "You're really amazing, Yagami-san. I don't think I've met a person as strong as yourself."

"It's an overstatement really, Takaishi-san. After all I've received plenty of help and support from others, so it wasn't just my own strength that made it work. I'm just glad to be able to do everything I can for such misfortunate kids while doing something I want," she gave him a bright smile. It was dazzling, with intensity of an eternal light, ever shining through the darkness. Even though she had her own share in tragedy, she still lived as optimistically as possible. Her attitude toward life really took to his heart.

"You are being too modest! By the way, if you need any help, at all, at any time, please feel free to ask me okay? I would really like to take a part in this as well. Although I might not be able to do too much," he said.

"Just having the thought is enough, Takaishi-san! I will happily take up your offer then."

Being able to help someone is always a good thing. Takeru knew from his own experiences that even something as small as a few words of encouragement could go a long way. The subject then drifted away from the two kids as Takeru continued walked right next to Hikari. "Oh by the way, has the airline called to tell me at all about when the rest of my stuff is going to be here?"  
"No, Takaishi-san, I haven't. I could call to check in on it for you, if you want?" Hikari answered.

"No, that's okay, Kanrinnin-san, I'll can do this later. And also, if you prefer, you can call me Takeru, since we're around the same age. Takaishi-san sounds way too formal for me."  
"Oh can I? Then in that case, is Takeru-kun okay?" she asked.

"Of course, Yagami-san."

"Oh that's not fair! Please call me by my name too, Takeru-kun," Hikari demanded.

"Oh...In that case, Hikari-ch…san," Takeru followed her request, but still felt kept the -san instead of using -chan because he felt impolite to call her that as they had only met today.

"Hai!" Hikari replied to the calling of her name.

They arrived next at room 6 after a walk from the lobby, as it was the furthest room away, at the end of the corridor in the back of the premise. Hikari took out the key, unlocked the door, and beckoned Takeru to come in. "This is going to be your room, Takeru-kun." she happily introduced. The moment he walked in Takeru was fascinated by the spaciousness of the place. It had more space, according to the young manager, than the rest of the rooms because this originally had been set up as a storage facility. Coincidentally it was also much bigger than the dormitory he had shared with Davis back in England, so he was awed silent that he could have all this space to himself. Hikari, however, took his speechlessness the other way.

"Um...do you not like the room? I know it wasn't too properly prepared since it hasn't been used for a while…" Hikari asked in distress, holding her hands close to her chest to display her insecurity at the possible dissatisfaction of her customer.  
"What? ...oh no no no, I love the room! It's just that it's bigger and better than I had expected!" Takeru quickly said to dispel any doubt that might had form in Hikari's mind.

"Really? Whew, I'm so relieved!" Hikari said, light returning to her smiling face. The loveliness of her smile stunned the teenage boy, making him blush, but he turned away from her so she wouldn't notice. _Are all Japanese girls this cute?_ He felt foolish at having dismissed his father's, and Davis's (he always had a fetish for everything Oriental, on top of the list being girls), comment to him about the attractiveness of Japanese women before. After all, Hiroaki had married Takeru's and Mogusaki's mothers. _But your mothers were on another level!_ Takeru chuckled at his father's frantic explanation, which then had reduced Nina Takaishi, who was at the time feeding the toddler Mogusaki her supper, into a crimson state out of sheer embarrassment. While it was very endearing seeing his father's true love for their British mothers, it did not, however, do a very good job at supporting Hiroaki's point.  
"What's the matter?" Hikari's voice brought Takeru back from his little heartwarming flashback. Apparently the young manager had thought he was chuckling at something she did.

"Oh no, I was just laughing at something my father once told me," he explained.

"I see. Well then, I'll leave you for now, Takeru-kun. I'm sure you're tired after the long trip. There's a set of futons in the closet over there if you want to sleep for a bit," she pointed to a closed slide door behind him. "Dinner will be ready at seven. If you want to take a bath, I'm sure you know where the bathroom is. It's the one right next to the one Sakuya was in. Or you can use the onsen in the garden at the middle of the inn, if you feel like you want a Japanesque experience." She then briefly went over a couple of minor details regarding the room contracts, and after handing him the room key she bowed lightly and took leave from his presence.

When Hikari left, Takeru placed his bags in the corners. "I think I'll go take a bath after all." He then unzipped his knapsack and took out a fresh set of clothing, and dug around for a bit in his other bag for a bath towel. He was prepared to leave the room when a sudden, uncommonly strong wave of sensation hit him, shocking him to his very core and paralyzing him for a few seconds. Takeru, wide-eyed with disbelief, dropped everything as he dashed to the window in his room and quickly opened it to scan the outside. His room conveniently faced the south towards the city, being located at the edge of the highest point of the hill which Yagami-sou sat. Looking out the window, he could see a majestic view of the Kiromachi below. But sightseeing was untimely, and not his primary concern right now. He instead glanced around, trying to detect the direction of the sensation's source. "Such high level of magical power I just felt...this can't be good...I need to go check it out," Takeru muttered to himself, and closed his eyes for concentration. After clearing his mind of any hindrance he was able to roughly identify the direction of the source. Having targeted the threat, he quickly walked to his bag, brought out a piece of paper and some pens, and hastily wrote the note 'Sleeping, please do not disturb' in awkward Japanese and pasted it onto the front of his door. When he felt he was prepared he locked the door behind him and took out of the necklace he wore, holding the azure crystal in the palm of his right hand. "Are you ready, Raging Gale? ACTIVATE!" Upon his command Raging Gale began to shine in brilliant colors with building intensity. A golden magic circle erupted from the sole of his feet as Takeru began the chant. "Winds of the eight directions, hear my cry. Upon our contract I have summon thee from afar. Spirits of zephyr and storm who hear my summons, answer my call as thou descend to my side.

"Raging Gale, formed from the tears of spirits of the eight winds, reborn anew into my staff! And show thy true form! Release thy restraint and lend me thy true power!"  
The blue amulet, after hearing Takeru completed his activation aria, now released even more light and illuminated the whole room to consume its master in blinding radiance.

Takeru, inside the light, was then transformed. His original clothes magically dissipated and replacing them were a green t-shirt and mahogany long pants. Two strips of black leather guard fixed themselves around his two shoulders and waist, crossing at the center of his upper torso. On his two hands appeared two olive gloves, fixed tightly to his wrists by tassels of golden thread. Two ebony heavy boots appeared on his feet as a green light wrapped around his neck and extended, forming a green traveler's cloak that went all the way down to his feet.

While Takeru transformed so did the blue crystal. The orb, once only the size of a marble, enlarged itself to a crystal ball about two decimeters in diameter. It then attached itself to a metallic grid, and grid then to an arc. The arc then attached to a short brown metallic pole that began to elongate itself upon attachment. The staff continued increase in length until Takeru was fully dressed. The blonde then took hold of the long staff that amounted to be a head longer than his height and with his right hand and twirled it around skillfully until he came into a stop. The light then erupted, dissipating into the surrounding as Takeru again reappeared into the room, fully dressed in his battle outfit. Seeing everything ready, and roughly calculating how much time he has until dinner time, he leaped out of the window. "Take me to the sky, **Seraphim Wings**!" Takeru cried as gravity began to take effect on his body in the midair. Two tiny set of gold angelic wings appeared near his ankles, and with their magical effect he kicked off at the air, as if it was solid ground, and shot upward at high speed for elevation. To make sure no one saw this little feat, he activated a cloak spell, concealing his movement to those who does not know magic. With everything in place he set his sight on the direction where the magic was strongest, and at top velocity flew high into the afternoon sky.


	6. Masked Peril

Kiromachi Downtown District…

Up high on the roof of a seven story apartment building stood a lonely figure. From his position he observed with half interest the clustered build works of the Kiromachi downtown. After all, it wasn't terribly long ago from his memory that this place was still open fields, with only a few a few important town structures around the newly erected town hall area. It truly amazed him at the rapid development of the town from a quiet, rustic retreat into the now lively, bustling cluster it now was. The person stood alone, awaiting imminent, interesting development in this otherwise normal afternoon. He fashioned a grey traveler's cloak, which hid his entire body behind its rough material. On his face he wore a white joker mask, which served to mask his true identity. _Looks like he had found me,_ the person thought to himself, upon observing the slowly darkening red sky, seeing things afar what normal eyes could not. He parted his cloak with his left hand, revealing a set of gray suit and trousers underneath, and dug the said hand into his left pocket. He shuffled through the contents for a bit, before retrieving from within a silver ring. The ring appeared at first plain and unmarked. But when he fixated it onto his left middle finger, austere calligraphy letters began to materialize as if burnt onto the ring. He then lifted the ringed hand up toward the sky, palms up, and began to chant. Obsidian, six-point star magic circle extended from beneath his feet, and the very air around began to darken. A magical force field began to assimilate above his palm and spread outward into the sky above and city below.

As Takeru persisted onward toward his target, speeding past buildings of steel and concrete, he noticed the atmosphere began to thicken with magical concentration. The cheery crowds a few feet below him, however, paid no heed to the blackness that began to surge through the air. _A force field, huh? I must be getting close,_ he concluded, and landed on a building to push off the roof to gain acceleration. He also took the chance to dispel his invisibility magic, knowing that the thickening air around was already hiding his presence from normal eyes. He traveled for only a few more minutes before finally sensing his imminent arrival at the source. Halting his advance, he concentrated hard, and accurately located the source to be on the top of the seven stories tall building. He laid his sight on the building and approached it with haste. When he reached the top he dispelled his flight magic and landed gracefully onto the tiled floor of the roof.

"You came," The cloaked figure now facing Takeru said simply, lowering his hands, which he still held high before Takeru's arrival.  
Takeru pointed his staff at him, taking precautions so he would not be in a disadvantage. "Do you really think no one would notice that amount of you expelled into the surrounding? As a mage representative of the Guardian Magical Institutional Extension here in Far East District on Terra I ask you to state your name and intention in endangering the indigenous populace with the unauthorized use of magic. If you fail to cooperate I will have to forcibly bring you under retention."  
The cloaked man chuckled upon hearing his threat, "It is only the inexperienced that jump to conclusions so quickly. At what point did I bring harm to the indigenous populace?"

"Don't try to dodge my question. I want an explanation, now!" Takeru asserted, even though in his mind he wasn't sure he could back up his words.

"I...simply want to meet you, Takaishi Takeru."  
Takeru recoiled at his mentioning of his name. "Me? How…how do you know my name?" Takeru asked with confusion.

This time cloaked man did not answer back, but instead lifted the ringed hand, pointing his index finger at the young man before him. The ring glowed with pure darkness as black light gathered at his finger tip. He then, without warning, fired the shot of black energy at the bespectacled blonde. The spell traveled so fast that it was already too late to do anything when Takeru's body set into motion. It hit him squarely on the chest, sending him flying backward and over the edge of the roof. Takeru fell, and was falling fast as gravity exerted its toll! "Damn...I was careless," Takeru thought, and quickly summoned his wings back onto his ankles, breaking his fall in midair. But the moment he regained his composure, the cloaked man appeared before him again with god-like speed. Not giving the youngster any time to react, he brought his right leg up and kicked Takeru in the stomach. The impact sent him flying up through the air. It was with such force that blood rose to the blonde's throat, but not enough to make him lose consciousness. He then quickly recovered, and rapidly chanted a spell for a counterattack. Five orbs of sparkling yellow quickly materialized and surrounded Takeru. "Altrasaz le maestra! Hear me, five spirits of roaring thunder!** Magic Shooter, Five Arrows of Thunder!**" the completed spell was then sent forth toward his enemy. The streams of yellow quickly accelerated toward their target. Encountering the coming danger the cloaked man was not fazed even one bit, and parried the attack easily with his bare hand.  
"Oh, bugger…I knew I was outmatched from the beginning but…" Takeru was not comforted by the sight, and turned around and retreated to put more distance between himself and the cloaked man. The man, detecting his intention, pursued him relentlessly, launching multiple shots of black energy at him as he chased. Takeru maneuvered skillfully to evade them, as flying at high speed was one of his fortes. Still as he flew on, he was occasionally sniped by his pursuer's spells, though the damage was minimal. When opportunities arose, Takeru also fired shots of magic shooters at him, or try to bind him in magical restraints. His efforts were futile, however, as his opposition like before easily parried his attack or sidestepped his binds easily. They kept at the fun for a while, with Takeru trying to shake his stalker off by zooming around buildings after buildings, taking sharp turns here and there. But this too proved to be futile, as his pursuer showed no sign of waning at his chase. While back in his school days he always scored high on all mock battles, Takeru was still, unfortunately inexperienced in the heat of a real deal, and was starting to feel his energy beginning to chip away bit by bit.

_This is dragging on too long, and I'm in a very big disadvantage. I need to turn this around, with one shot! _ Having noticed that during this game of cat and mouse his opponent was satisfied with merely attacking him with barrages of magical shots and had no intentions of closing in, Takeru quickly devised a plan. He then, having determined his objective, began, in one burst, accelerated beyond his current speed, catching the cloaked man off guard. The cloaked man also sped up to pursue the British youngster, but because of the momentary mismatch he lost complete sight of him among the moderately high towers of steel edifices which made up the downtown district.

Takeru's little trick didn't buy him that much time, however, as the cloaked man, flied high above for better vision, quickly spotted him through the tracing of residual magic from his flight spell, and found him to be hiding in a blind spot created by four high towers encircling a small patch of lot for garbage disposal. The cloaked man gave credit to his little opponent for temporarily outwitting him, but his luck had run out. He descended quickly to the location of his adversary and with a magically enhanced kick collided with the blonde…

…only to find that his foot scraped nothing but air. He watched as the magically induced apparition dissipated, and appeared a sizable golden orb that was now revealed a little too close beneath him than he would otherwise have liked.

Even before the cloaked man had deduced his position, Takeru already began the preparation of his spell. "Altrasaz le maestra! Goddess of everlasting light who laments the suffering, be reborn onto this dark earth into being, and bestow thy infinite might upon me. Divine ray which dispels the darkness, descend from the high heavens, and bring forth celestial illumination!" With his spell the orbs of light began to assimilate into the larger golden orb which his opponent now faced. Takeru, in midair perpendicular to the ground, was positioned behind the golden light and ready to fire. Although for maximum prowess the spell required a longer casting time for more energy to assimilate, the cloaked man did not give him such option. Yet this amount should to be enough to at least knock his opposition out cold. He smirked at the success of his deployment, having not expecting every piece to fall perfectly right into his calculation.

"Let's go! Raging Gale! **Divine Buster!**" he jabbed the azure staff forward at the collected sphere of magical energy in front of him. Upon command the magical orb contracted and unleashed forth a magical torrent. Huge stream of gold energy raced up toward the cloaked man at high velocity, and, not having time to put up any defense of any kind, Takeru's opponent could only watch as his body bathed in the golden radiance of the shining pillar that now took to the sky. Upon impact the attack exploded and created much smoke and sound. Since this was meant more for a ranged attack than firing in near proximity, Takeru was thrown quite a bit backward due to the force generated from the explosion. _He…couldn't have done anything to prevent that, could he? _The blonde thought bitterly, hoping for the better. His eyes fixated, like hawk to its prey, on the cloud of smoke, trying to determine whether his spell had done its work, as his body began to tremor from near expiration since he had poured almost every last ounce of his remaining energy into that one spell. 

No doubt then, was he mortally horrified, when he saw the man, unfazed and essentially unharmed other than the few burns on his cloak, emerge from the slowly clearing cloud of grey smoke. "You have _got_ to be kidding me..." Takeru muttered at the hopelessness of achieving victory as he raised his staff again for a possible coming attack.

But it never came. Instead of finishing him off, the man simply laughed…heartily? "You have gotten really strong, Takeru-kun. On our last meeting you couldn't even finish chanting for a Magic Arrow spell before you were knocked out!" the man commented as he dusted himself. Takeru, bewildered at his statement and drained of energy, could only stare blankly, wondering at his enemy's sudden change of heart. At the noticing of the mood change in the battlefield he lowered his staff, though not completely since he was still at a complete loss. But the man afloat in midair above him did not possess the same bellicose aura anymore. "Just…who are you?" Takeru asked after a brief silence. The cloaked man, upon hearing his inquiry, laughed heartily again. It was warm and genuine, not menacing usually found in a villain's laughter. It was…familiar. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by my spells, Takeru-kun. Although I guess it's partly my fault since I did silent casting instead," he said through his laughter, and lifted his hands up to the hood of the cloak and the mask, pulled both off, and revealed his face. "It's me, Takeru-kun."

Takeru was stunned at his true identity. It was a man he should have guess, "Joe...Joe-san? Joe Quincy Weatherforth-san?"  
"Yup, the one and only!" Joe Weatherforth replied merrily. "It's really been a long time, Takeru-kun."  
The two then ascended and descended onto the roof of a building, and landed. Joe took off his ring, which faded back into its plain form once it lost its master's magic source, and placed it back into his pocket. With the magic concentrator off his finger the force field he had created before began to dissolve and gradually faded into nothingness. The now revealed afternoon sky's true hue was deep crimson, signifying the setting of the sun to end the day. Joe produced a package of cigarette from his coat pocket, popped one out and lit it, and inhaled the alluring breath. The man looked to be about thirty. He had deep black eyes and complimentary silvery hair of about three inches long, which he had spiked. He took off the long traveler's cloak, folded it neatly, and hanged it on his left forearm while sticking the same hand into his pocket. "So how long has it been?" Joe asked.  
"Five year since my brother's…" Takeru trailed off. Joe knew what went unmentioned. Takeru's silence hinted at Takaishi Yamato and his family's funeral five years ago. Yamato's family and his villagers, according to reports of the local authority were rumored to have been brutally massacred by a tragic raid by the demons. The later inspections showed a conflagration which had consumed most of the village's domain, but the authorities could not figure out why no one survived, as the fire had obliterated or damaged most if not all of the possible leads left behind. With that said the family of four was buried at the Dansforth House's cemetery not too far from Edinburgh. Considerate of his young friends residual hurt from his brother's death, Joe changed the subject. "Anyways, welcome to Japan. I trust that you are satisfied with the arrangements I made for you?" he smirked.

"Yes. Yagami-sou is a wonderful place! I can't thank you enough for helping me find such a great place." The blonde replied.

"Well, it was kind of a prearranged deal. But if you want to thank anyone, thank Yagami-kun. She was the one who agreed to take you in."

"You know Hikari-san?"

"Yeah, she's my student, after all. But I've known her longer than that, mind you. She _is _Taichi's little sister, after all." Joe added.

"No wonder! I knew I've heard the name Yagami somewhere before! From Yagami Taichi-san…" at the mention of yet another friend of his brother's, Takeru fell silent.

Joe sighed understandingly. After all out of the original six friends that had once made up of the Wings of Justice, four had already passed away. Only Hsiro and he remained now, carefully safeguarding what remained from the past. Their younger days were quite glorious, and he never forgot how they used to traverse the Guardian provinces during the War, selflessly assisting those in need. The memories of the past were all that they had now though, to cherish. A decade ago, when the members went their separate ways, no one thought that it was the last time they would all be together. The next time Joe heard of the other members were the tragedies of Taichi and Yamato's families. _Not only Taichi and Yamato, but Cielo and Bella and their kids as well?_ was the first thought that entered his mind when he heard the tragic news from Kuo Hsiro, who he met again around five years ago in a remote village in Guardia. After discussing with each other the oddities of each case, sharing opinions on the events, they could not but feel something dark was on the rise, carefully tracing their every step and action, observing in the shadows. Joe would have gone on off course with his reverie, if Takeru wasn't right next to him. _It's too early for him to know, he's not ready,_ he thought with melancholy.

"Joe-san, are you okay? You seem, distant for some reason," inquired Yamato's little brother, a bit concerned at his sudden silence.

"Ah…it's nothing, Takeru-kun. I was working overtime last night so I'm a bit out of it. So…you have finally graduated from Corneria huh? How was the ceremony?" he deflected the younger's concern.  
"Honestly, it was boring. The only exciting part was when we got to find out where we would go on the next phase of our training. I would have sent you a letter to ask you to attend, but I couldn't get in contact with you."  
"That's okay, I'm sure my presence was not much missed. It was your special day after all."  
"Not true! I really had wanted you to be there! Though I had wished father and Nina-san could have come too."  
The two continued to discuss about Takeru's graduation and his life so far. Takeru spared no details, also telling Joe about him and Rika.  
"That's too bad, that you broke up with Hallows-san. On the mail you sent me three years ago you said you guys were completely in love!"  
"Time's change, Joe-san. Me and Ri-chan just aren't cut out to be couples. Though it doesn't mean we aren't still friends," the blonde explained.

"Well, at least you made the three years count right?" asked the older man with a sly grin. Any man would instantly recognize as hint toward _that_.

Well, any man who wasn't as dense as Takeru was when it came to serious relationship stuff, anyways, as the blonde did not catch what his friend's drift at first. "What do you mean, Joe-san?"

Joe palmed his forehead in disbelief, "Do I really have to make myself more clear…wait, Takeru, you couldn't not have…not even once?"

"Not have…what?" was his initial response, before the answer finally dawned on him like a rock dropping onto the top of his head. "Oh…well, it…just never crossed my mind to…I mean, I never worked up the courage to…"

Joe Weatherforth could not but help to want to applaud his younger friend for his tremendous feat, "Wow, three years, Takeru-kun. You had three years and not once did you let your emotion run wild to do its work? This has gotta be some kind of a record!" the grey-haired man laughed while Takeru stared at the ground sheepishly, obviously embarrassed. When Joe had collected himself, he continued, "Well, that's fine too. What do you know about romance anyways? You're but still a fledgling."  
"You're one to talk, Joe-san! I've never seen you around with any woman either, and you are much older than I am!" retorted the indignant blonde teen.

"Why you little brat, must you pry at that? It's not that I have no experience in that field! I will have you know that I _have_ laid eyes on some true perfection in the past," said the older man with some indignation as he turned his face away from Takeru's sight. Unknown to the young blonde, Joe's eyes became mellowed, changing from joyful bliss to sorrowful nostalgia as the image of a certain cherished person of the past traversed through his consciousness. Her beautiful green eyes, long flowing roseate hair, and angelic features had once aroused heated passion in many men's heart, his included. Unfortunately this was an unrequited love, yet even until today would he not see, or love, another woman the way he did her. Not wanting to show his friend this weakness though, he quickly snapped out of it.

"Merely ogling and actually taking actions are two very different matters, Joe-san. I guess on this regard I win!" stated his blonde friend.

While Joe and his younger companion continued argued back and forth about trivial, useless matters the metal entrance to the rooftop slammed open. Out came an annoyed-looking, slightly harried Matsuda Sakuya, in a plain blue long sleeved shirt a tad big for her size and a pair of gray sweat pants. She wore her now dried olive black hair into two short ponytails in front of her ears. As she walked up to the two, they did not notice her presence until she spoke up, "Greetings, Weatherforth-sensei, Takeru-kun."  
"Good afternoon, Miss Matsuda," Joe said in English after identifying the source of the voice to be none other than his student.

"Save the English for school, sensei. It wasn't nice of you to do something like this, you know. Because of you I have to come all the way here to get Takeru-kun!"  
"Sorry for troubling you to come out all this way, but I could've taken him back myself, you know?" Joe said with a smile.  
"No need, as I'm already here already." Sakuya replied flatly.  
The older man gave up, not wanting and having no need to argue with his student. He turned his attention back to Takeru, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve an folded envelope, "Here Takeru-kun, this is for you," he handed him it, "inside is a letter concerning your transfer to the Kiromachi High School and the principal's greeting. And...let's see...oh yeah Fujitaka-sensei also wants to meet you tomorrow. So be sure to drop by at the high school around noon-ish all right?"  
The young blonde received it from him, "Okay, I got it. Thanks, Joe-san" he acknowledged.  
"Alright, then I will take my leave. I will see you two in school then, Takeru-kun, Matsuda-kun," and with that said, a black, six-star magic circle erupted from unser his feet. Then, teleporting from the site, Joe vanished into thin air.

"How do you know we were here?" Takeru asked curiously shortly after Joe's leaving. But then he remembered that Sakuya was also a mage, so she would have also been able to detect their magical powers. After all, a fight of that magnitude would have attracted the attention of any capable mages. "Actually never mind that. I _am_ curious at how you know Joe-san though."  
"Weatherforth-sensei is an old family friend. What about you, how do you know him?"  
"He was one of my brother's few surviving friends. I look up to him like an older brother."  
"Few surviving? Sounds tragic. What had your brother been in, a war?" She said in a joking manner.

To her complete dismay, Takeru looked out to the setting sun and slowly replied. "Yeah, he had been. He didn't actually die in the war, but pretty soon it'll be the fifth anniversary of he and his family's passing."  
Realizing she had just perhaps insulted him in the worst possible way, she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."  
"It's alright, you didn't know." While he was sad, Takeru could not stay that way forever. Taking Hikari's earlier demonstrations of optimism to heart, he smiled warmly, "Well then, shall we go then?"  
"O-Okay!" agreed the olive-haired girl.

The two left the roof and descended down onto the busy afternoon street below. The sky was already approaching darkness as the roads of the downtown teemed with cars from the rush hour traffic. Takeru and Sakuya decided to walk back rather than to take the bus, as it probably would take more time to get back considering the traffic. Besides, they were in no hurry. Therefore, the sun had completely hid itself behind the mountains, taking its luminary rays with it, when Takeru, for the second time in one day, climbed the stairs leading to the Yagami Inn.  
"I see...your brother and Weatherforth-sensei were part of the Wings of Justice who fought in the Guardian War of Revolution...This is the first time I've heard of something about this stuff."  
"That's not surprising. We western mages tend to be reclusive in sharing information about our home country from another world. Mind even though when I say home country, I've never actually set foot on Guardia. According to Nina-san, my maternal great-great-grandfather first settled in Terra, oh that's our term for Earth, around three centuries ago, and ever since we never needed to go back."  
"Fascinating! So you're like, an alien or something!"

Takeru laughed at the comparison, "I guess you can say that, although that means I'm actually only part-alien, as my father is one hundred percent Terran."

"And your magic, it's totally different from ours too. When I was trying to pick up your magical energy I had to try really hard since it's so unfamiliar."  
"I suppose the application of magic energy is a bit different, but both styles summons spirits of nature to help in combat, no?"

"Well, with Reidou it's actually a bit different, since…" Sakuya went on to explain the basic structure of eastern style magic. It did not take long for them to arrive at the glass panel doors of the entrance, and once they opened the door and walked in they ceased discussing anything magically related. Takeru tailed Sakuya closely, following her to the kitchen. As she turned on the light…  
"_Surprise!_" those awaiting in ambush in the kitchen exclaimed loudly.  
"What the…what's this for?" Takeru asked, a bit befuddled at the situation.

"Welcome home! It's your surprise welcoming party, Takeru-kun." Hikari the manager walked up to him and said. Placing her hands onto his back, she guided him from behind to the seat next to hers.  
"Well, now that everyone is present, let's begin with introductions of ourselves. I'll start!" Sakuya also joined the table as she spoke up. "Takeru-kun, I'm Matsuda Sakuya as you already know. I'm sixteen years old and a junior at Kiromachi High. I live in room four. Don't be shy about coming to visit my room once in a while. I know we'll have lots of fun together!"  
At the conclusion of Sakuya's speech, a little, green-eyed, fuchsia-haired girl sitting next to a young boy stood up next with ecstasy. Her pretty hair was fashioned into two shoulder-length braids. "My name is Minako, Takehara Minako, Takeru-nii-chan. I'm six years old and I'm in kindergarten. I live in room eight with my Onii-chan. Please play with me often!" the little girl Minako said with much energy.  
The boy next to her then stood up and spoke. He possessed the same green eyes as Minako, but unlike her his short hair was blonde, "The name's Takeshi, Takehara Takeshi. I'm eleven and live in room eight. Takaishi-san, welcome to the Yagami Inn. Please take the time to get use to everything around here. And sorry to cut this short, but if there's nothing else I'll be taking my leave. I still have something to finish up…" Takeshi trailed off as he stood up abruptly and left the room, leaving the cheerful atmosphere and his now disappointed-looking sister behind.  
"Um...was it…something I did?" Takeru asked after Takeshi's odd behavior.  
"It's not your fault, Takeru-kun. Takeshi-kun's always like that." Hikari explained, sighing at the kid's display of rudeness toward the new tenant. _And ever since my parents' died, their guardianship has passed to me, though I don't know how much of a guardian I have been to them._ Hikari's words from earlier this afternoon materialized in his mind, and the blonde could begin to understand what she was talking about earlier.  
After little Takeshi's abrupt departure, the next person to go was an average height, thirty-year-old man with jet black, shoulder-lengthed hair. "Hi, Takeru-kun, if you don't mind me calling you that. My name is Shiratori Ryushi. I'm thirty-six and an author, as you may have already heard from our lovely little Miss Manager here. It is to my utmost pleasure to meet you. I am married and have four beautiful daughters, who happen to be quadruplets, but they live in Kyoto with my wife, though I have been trying to convince them to come here. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask."  
Ryushi finished sat down. Finally, the last person, who sat next to Shiratori, stood up too. She had light brown hair which she tied back into a bundle. A bookish, hard-working aura radiated all around her, of which was mostly attributed to her attire of a white lab coat and suit underneath. She looked to be in her late-twenties or so, Takeru observed. "Takaishi-kun, I'm Furude Fumiko. I'm a biomedical graduate from Osaka University currently working as an assistant professor. I usually come home late or not at all so this is probably one of the only few times you'll see me at home, though I'm sure my presence won't be missed too much. But I really love the little time I spend here at Yagami-sou, so I wish you will come to like it as much as I do."

And for the grand finale, Hikari stood up and spoke with a bright smile, "Takeru-kun, although I'm sure you know already by know, I'm Yagami Hikari. I am, like Sakuya a junior at Kiromachi High and the manager here at Yagami-sou. I love it here because of everyone who lives here. Thus I look forward to living with you and have much fun times and memories! I'm sure you'll come to love your new home like I do!"  
When Hikari was done, it was Takeru's turn to shine, "I guess it's my turn huh? Thank you guys all, for your warm welcome. My name is Takaishi Takeru. I'm from near Edinburgh, Scotland, which is a city in the United Kingdom. I'm very grateful for your cordially welcoming me into this family. Please take care of me everyone!" he said and respectfully bowed. After Takeru's speech everyone applauded in cheers and began chattering loudly with one another as Hikari and Fumiko stood up to serve the gorgeous looking dinner. Everyone present had their share at being well watered and fed, and the party lasted until almost midnight. Satisfied, all returned to their individual rooms, leaving only the manager and the new tenant to stay and clean up.  
"So what do you think of everyone, Takeru-kun?" she asked as he handed her the gathered plates to wash.  
"It's like what you said before, Hikari-san. Everyone here is so nice and cordial. It makes me feel like a part of the family already," other than, of course, the little endeavor with the one Takehara Takeshi.  
"Well, you are. Everyone in the Yagami Inn is like my family, and even if I have known you only for a day, you too already possess a very special place in my heart, Takeru-kun." Hikari said, giving him again her signature warm smile.  
Takeru felt his heartbeat increase in pace and his cheek brighten as the girl's sparkling ruby eyes gazed at him without a single trace of ingenuity. He had never before felt anything like it. It was as if every time she smiled, she could simply erase all negativity and worries in another. How she does it, he did not understand, but he could feel his heart desiring more of this girl's warmth, of her simplistic optimism and bliss that outshone any regret or sorrow. He wondered if everyone around her felt the same way as he did. If so, he wonder what was it that make her so…enchanting to the heart. "I…I…" Takeru stuttered, "I…I mean…I…thank you, Hikari-san." Dumbstruck by the unidentifiable sensation which radiated from the girl next to him, he felt silly taking that long of a time just to reply. Hikari took his delayed answering to no account, however, and placed the last cleaned plate into the dishwasher and turned it on. "Well, looks like we're all about done here. Thanks for your help, Takeru-kun," she thanked him as she dried her hands with a sink towel, and turned to the clock, which coincidentally stroke the midnight chime. "Oh dear, it's already twelve. Happy times always pass by fast doesn't it? Well, Takeru-kun, I'm gonna turn in for the night. Have a good night sleep!" She bowed for one last time to her new treasured tenant and friend before departing, leaving Takeru to himself.  
Takeru stood silently and stared off at the space which Hikari had recently unoccupied for a spell, replaying images of today's events in his mind. He realized that even though it was only the first day, quite a lot had happened. _This is going to be fun,_ the blonde thought to himself, as he turned off the light and headed toward his room to hit the hay. Darkness and silence seized the room, and none but the slow humming of the active dishwasher remained.


	7. Date

Ah alarm clock, the damn alarm clock. Its annoying yet essential chime filled the dark spaces of room six with its awaking effect. Small threads of sunlight managed to pierce through the curtain cloth closed for the night, somewhat illuminating the darkness. From under the sheet sluggish, ruffled movements began as the alarm clock disturbed the sleeping figure under the cover. After a few minutes of shuffling around, Takeru succumbed to the alarm's ruthless assaults on his ears. Sticking his head out of the cover, he opened his still drowsy eyes, revealing two deep blue orbs. He proceeded to turn off the alarm and reached for his glasses next to it. _What time is it?_ The blonde sleepily thought. Apparently partying until twelve in the morning the previous night was not the best idea, especially for someone who was still under the influence of jetlag. Even after a quick, refreshing shower last night, the tiring fight with Joe Weatherforth did more to counter the shower's alleviating effect, as it pushed him not only to his physical limits but also magical as well. Having realigned his vision with his spectacle, he saw it to be ten in the morning. Allowing a deep long sigh escape he propelled himself up into sitting position, and shook his head to be rid of his sleepiness. The British blonde then brought his right hand up, scratched the back of his head for a bit, and stood up before folding his futon and placing it back into the cabinet. He also opened the drapes and window, and looked out to the imagery which he unfortunately had not the time to enjoy yesterday afternoon. From his window Takeru could see most of the town Kiromachi, as the Yagami Inn stood at one of the higher points on the hills. The sea of tree surrounded the outskirts of the town's premise, and along with the hilly terrain isolated this town from the rest of the region, though with the advents of improved road system, traveling to here had become much easier than in the ancient past. As Takeru looked out to the light of the new day, he heard a knock on his door. "Come on in, it's open." Takeru replied, shifting his gaze to the door.

The door opened, and in came Hikari, who wore the same blue kimono robe but wore a pink shirt and blue sweatpants today. Unlike yesterday she fashioned her long hair into a single long ponytail. "Good Morning, Takeru-kun," Hikari greeted him with a bright smile.

"Morning, Hikari-san. It's a beautiful weather out today isn't it?"

"It sure is. Did you sleep well last night? Did you find everything fine?" It was customary for her to ask him this, as she was the host and he, the guest after all.

"Everything was fine, Hikari-san, and I slept like a log. It was a bit difficult waking up just now. I think the jet lag is still affecting me. How about you?"

The manager pondered a bit before answering, "Well, would you believe me if said I was up all night because I was excited with your addition to our family?"

Takeru eyed her for a bit, and found her every bit as refreshed as possible, "If you did, please tell me your secret technique on staying up late and still looking like you rested regularly."

This made Hikari chuckled, and Takeru joined in as well. The two of them continued to chatter on trivial matters until the bespectacled blonde brought the topic back on track.

"So what was it that you need, Hikari-san?"  
"Um…well, I came to ask you if you're free today," asked the innkeeper.

"Well…" Takeru thought for a bit. "I have somewhere I need to be around noon, but otherwise nothing planned."  
"In that case, would you like to go on a date?"  
"Date you say? Well of course I'm free anytime for…wait…_what?_" Not believing what he had just heard, he stood wide-eyed for a while before his face burned with deep scarlet, flustered by her sudden suggestion. Sure Hikari was nice, friendly, and cute…_wait, that's going off track,_ Takeru thought. There he was, deceived by his father Hiroaki's description of that Japanese women tended to be shy and conservative. Her straightforward comment had completely destroyed that imagery. But then again, his old man's view was probably outdated anyhow.  
"Yes, a date," Hikari continued. "not with me though, which is a shame, but with Sakuya-chan."  
"With Sakuya-san?" _Oh it is a shame…but then again if you rule out Sakuya-san's volatile personality, she is actually quite cute as well…wait what the hell am I thinking? _The voice inside the blonde's head was just mindlessly blaring out what it wanted, unchecked by his regular sensitivity.

"Yeah…well you see I wanted to take you to the downtown area for a tour and to let you get to know everything. But I have to do some extracurricular work today so I can't go with you. That's why I asked Sakuya-chan yesterday if she can take my place, and she agreed to take you," she explained.  
"Oh…" with that he calmed down a little. "…so that's what this is all about," he chuckled weakly when she cleared up the misunderstanding. It was hard to tell for him whether she purposely withheld the explanation to see his reaction, or if that she actually had no ill-intentions whatsoever. _If it's the former, I'd better watch out for possible future attempts as well._  
"So…what do you say?" asked his lovely manager, trying to discern his interest on her proposal.  
_Well, all things aside she is trying to do me a favor,_ he thought. "Well…of course! I can't waste your generosity. Plus it would be great to know more about Kiromachi." Takeru said with a smile.

"Great! Then I'll go wake Sakuya-chan up right now." She said with cheerful bliss and departed for Sakuya's room.

"She is so thoughtful, though at the same time she may be devious as well…" Takeru said to himself absent-mindedly. While he appreciated occasional teasing and pranks as entertaining and livening, things like this which bordered on the boundary between good nature jokes and insensitive jests he would probably never become accustomed to.

After Hikari left the room Takeru unclothed his pajamas and dressed in a white shirt and slid on a pair of fresh jeans. He then wore his gray sweater over his shirt, attempted to tackle at his messy hair for a bit, a battle which the latter won, and left his room to head to the bathroom. He walked down the hallway and arrived at the bathroom and just as he was about to reach for the doorknob, however, the door opened. Coming out the room was Takeshi, still wiping his face with…a pink towel? _Probably one he shares with Minako,_ the older blonde decided. Also being a brother of a younger sister, he saw no shame in sharing otherwise girly items with siblings.

"Ah…good morning, Takeshi-kun," Takeru greeted the younger male tenant.  
Takeshi, upon hearing the greeting, stopped short and looked up. "Ah, morning, Takaishi-san. Excuse my abruptness but I need to get to work early today so if you'll excuse me," and with that he left Takeru.  
_Such a cool kid. Wonder what I can do to get him to open up?_ Takeru reflected. But there was nothing he could do about his behavior right now, so he put the thought on the back burner and entered the bathroom. He stayed in there for quite a while, and came out freshen and clean. Leaving behind the remaining trace of his drowsiness in the washroom, he then proceeded to the kitchen to dine on the morning feast prepared by none other than the cute innkeeper herself.

"Takeru-nii-chan, goodo mouningu!" a certain small six-year-old ran up to him and greeted him, in Japanese English, as he entered. It almost reminded him of the time when Mogusaki was younger, minus the Japanese accent of course. _Is it just my imagination or am I mixing the two up together?_ He wondered, but he passed it off as just a slight longing for his clingy kid sister. _I should probably call and tell Mo-chan that I've arrived safe and sound._

"Good morning, Minako-chan!" Takeru said to the cheerful young girl, and allowed himself to be led by the her to an available chair conveniently next to hers. As he sat down with her, Minako passed him a bowl of rice and gave him a set of chopsticks, which Takeru took, bewildered at the oriental dining tool.

"Um…exactly how do you use this?" this was one thing Hiroaki had neglected to teach him.

"Eh? Takeru-nii-chan you don't know how to use chopsticks?"  
"Well…I'm foreign so I'm used to forks all the time."  
"That's okay, I can teach you!" she then took hold of his hand and attempted to structure the fingers into proper form. A few attempts were all it took, as Takeru's fingers were understandably adaptive.

The two helped themselves to Hikari's previously prepared dishes and chattered on happily when a much disheveled Sakuya sluggishly tumbled into the room, pulled out the seat across the table from Takeru, and sat down with her head glued to the table.  
"Morning, Sakuya-san." "Good morning, Sakuya-nee-chan." The two said together to the new arrival.

"Morning, you two," Sakuya said sleepily, her voice stifled a bit by the wooden table on which she comfortably positioned her head.

"Are you all right, Sakuya-san?" Takeru asked while filling an empty bowl with rice. He then acquired a pair of chopsticks from the dishwasher, and placed both items next to her head. Smelling the sweet scent of goodness that was food, Sakuya gave in to her stomach's grumbling sensation and lifted her head from the table. She then took up the bowl and chopsticks and began eating, and with a few mouthfuls of rice and tamagoyaki she was alleviated of her morning fatigue.

"Not a morning person are you, Sakuya-san?" Takeru asked, chuckling at her what could only be described as complete rejuvenation.

"Definitely not, especially on holidays. I completely forgot I promised Hikari that I'd take you on a tour, so I slept in a bit late last night after the party." Sakuya explained as she reached with her chopsticks for the dish of salted pickle before her, picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth.  
Next to emerge from the kitchen doorway was Takeshi. But instead of sitting down with them he walked straight passed the table and searched the cabinet. The young blonde retrieved from it a loaf of bread, took out from the bag a piece of toast, and after spreading some butter on it, bit into it.  
"Morning Onii-chan!" Minako, happy to see her brother, greeted him with an eager smile.

"Morning Minako, be good today all right? Be sure not to cause Hikari-nee or the other tenants any trouble okay? I'll be back at seven." and quickly as he came Takeshi departed, leaving Minako looking mightily disappointed.  
Takeru took notice of this, and placed his hand on Minako's head, gently ruffled it for a bit to counteract Takeshi's chilling behavior. It was something he'd do to Mogusaki whenever she felt sad or lonely, and apparently it worked with this little one as well, since after a few minutes of comforting Minako returned to her cheerful self. When breakfast was promptly finished Takeru and Sakuya stayed to wash the dishes while Minako ran off, probably to the lobby to watch television.

"So when do you want to go, Takeru-kun?" the raven-haired girl asked as she handed him a dirty dish.

"Why don't we go right after this, so we have ample time before I have to go see the principal?" Takeru decided.

"Sure, sounds good to me."  
Ten minutes later Takeru and Sakuya walked down the hall and came to the front entrance. There they met Hikari, who now wore a white woolen sweater and the previous blue sweatpants. She kept her beautiful sepia-colored hair in the previous ponytail, allowing two bangs to fall next to her cheek. When the two arrived she was just finishing putting on her shoes.

"Hikari-chan, leaving for practice already?" Sakuya asked.  
"Yup! You two have fun today okay?" Hikari said.  
"We will, Hikari-san," Takeru answered.  
Hikari finished tying up her running shoes, stood up and opened the glass door. "Well then, I'll be taking off first. See you guys later!" She then departed, not forgetting to bow lightly before leaving.

"See ya!" Both Takeru and Sakuya replied and waved.  
After Hikari left the two of them also sat down and put on their shoes.

"Um, is it okay to leave Minako-chan at home?" asked Takeru, a little worried about the young fuchsia-haired girl.

"She'll be alright. It's not the first time after all. Besides, Shiratori-san is at home if anything happens."  
When they finished they left the inn, walked through the garden, and descended the stone stairway.

"So Minako-chan's always left at home by herself?"  
"Yeah, pretty much. Shiratori-san's always home with her, but he's always working on his own stuff so he has no time to play with her. Hikari and I have been trying to get Takeshi too spend more time with her, but that stubborn kid…" Sakuya trailed off with a deep sigh.

"That's horrible…" Takeru said as he thought of his own little sister and how he had always at the very least tried to be there for her. "How can Takeshi do tolerate this?"

"That kid, Takeshi…he's a workaholic. Well not that I blame him. He does have to support himself and Minako-chan, but he could at least allot some time to be with his sister, and yet he doesn't. Hikari told him not to worry about any of the money problems as she could support them, but he would have none of it."  
_Good morals, but inflexible huh…_Takeru described Takeshi in his mind. Well, there were times when he too had fallen victim to the same trend when he was raising Mogusaki, so he couldn't really judge him too harshly. The two continued to discuss matters considering the Takehara siblings while walking down the hill of the residential area. They then caught a bus at the station and rode their way to the downtown area. When the two teens arrived they got off and traversed through the crowds. It was a late-December day, thus many people were shopping for the upcoming Chirstmas holiday. As they passed through countless shops and stores, Sakuya pointed them out and introduced them to Takeru. They also proceeded through the market district, with Sakuya introducing the new tenant to the local shopkeepers.

It was a little after noon when they decided to take a break. Sakuya suggested that they grab a bite to eat.  
"Good idea, I'm kind of hungry," Takeru said as he held on to his slightly emptied stomach.  
They entered a sushi bar at his request. "I heard they're really good, but never actually tried them," he insisted, though Sakuya gave him a skeptical look. Inside the restaurant they sat at the counter, side by side.  
"Oji-san! Sekiguchi Oji-san!" Sakuya called out, and a minute later an elderly chef came out to man the counter.  
"Well well, if it isn't Sakuya-chan. How have you been? You should really come see this old man more often!" He walked toward their direction. As he closed in he noticed an unfamiliar face, whose blonde owner sat next to Sakuya. He smirked slyly and whispered to Sakuya, "So you got yourself another boyfriend? And this time a foreigner too! Ah, aren't you just the most popular."  
The chef's remark turned Sakuya bright red. She retorted hastily. "Oji-san! It's not like that!"  
Chef Sekiguchi laughed heartily, and turned to Takeru.  
"Hey young fella, I gotta tell ya you made a fine catch. Take care of Sakuya-chan all right? Even if she doesn't look like it she is still a sweet innocent girl."  
"Ah? Uh…come again?" Takeru, baffled by the chef's weird comment, couldn't even tell if he was joking or not.

"Please get back to your job, Sekiguchi-san! Can you get us some toro?" Sakuya changed the subject.

"Hai! Coming right up, little miss. I'll also throw in some free extras too, since you come here so often." The old chef then went to work.  
Once chef Sekiguchi was out of earshot, Sakuya turned to her companion, "Don't listen to him, Takeru-kun. He always teases me like that whenever I come in with a guy."  
"Well, you must be very popular with the guys then, for him to tease you like this," Takeru also contributed his share of teasing.

"_Ahhh_, not you too!" she then turned away, and refused to speak with him while they waited for the sushi. Sakuya needed time getting over the embarrassment while Takeru was fascinated by the chef's blade work, though he couldn't quite see exactly what he was working on. A little later the elderly chef came back and placed in front of them two plates with beautifully arranged pieces of the oriental food. Takeru took one bite and was amazed by the wonderful sensation that seemed to melt at the touch of his tongue, and proceeded to wolf down everything else in his portion. Sakuya took notice and chuckled at Takeru's horrible table manner. "And there I thought that you were an English gentleman," she teased.

"Hell I'm Scottish by birth. But still, sorry you had to see that, but it was simply too delicious. What are these made of anyways?"  
"Oh…rice, vinegar, wasabi, oh and the meat on top of the rice is raw fish meat."  
"I see. Rice, vinegar, wasabi and…_raw fish?_" he swore that on his father's next visit he would personally murder him for not immersing him with traditional Japanese cuisine.

"Yeah, is something the matter?" she grinned widely, clearly enjoying his torment. _Serves you right for making fun of me,_ she thought innocently.

"…I think I'm going to be sick…" Takeru, upon hearing that he had just eaten a plate of uncooked fish, turned slightly green.  
Seeing him taking it worse than she had expected, she began to feel a bit guilty, but only just a bit, "No worries, Takeru-kun. All the meat's been properly treated. You won't get sick at all." Sakuya said hastily, assuring Takeru that he would be fine.

After Takeru's first experience with the delicious "delight" that was sushi, the two bid farewell to the elderly but energetic chef and proceeded out of the shop, and again walked among the crowd that filled streets of downtown Kiromachi.  
"So where shall we head next?" Sakuya asked the bespectacled blonde.

"Well, I guess I need to go the high school now. Can you take me there?" after all that was their biggest objective today.

"Oh yeah huh…your appointment with the principal. Sure!"

They then boarded the bus to get out of the busy downtown and enter the east side, which was much quieter. They got off at a bus stop and walked to the iron gate of Kiromachi High School. The campus was just like any other regular school, with a multi-story building, a running field, a gym, and some extra buildings reserved for club activities. The whole campus was walled off with red brick walls from its surroundings. High above in the middle of the school structure was a tower with a large round clock. The hands of the clock now pointed one-thirty.

The two entered through the unlocked gate and found themselves in the school courtyard. They passed through the campus, meeting some students, of a few Sakuya recognized and greeted, hard at work even during winter break. As they approach the entrance of the building, Sakuya suddenly stopped, and turned to Takeru. "Takeru-kun, I need to go run to my club house for a bit, so I'll meet you back here. I think you should be able to go to the principal's office on your own from here. Just search around a bit okay? I'll see you later," and before he could protest, Sakuya dashed off, leaving the newcomer alone to himself. Thus having no choice but to continue on, Takeru walked through the entrance into the building. He wondered aimlessly for a bit, and soon became lost. _…and Sakuya-san said that it was easy to find… _he thought bitterly as he came across a flight of stairs and decided to try his luck on the second floor. As he ascended the steps he encountered a small girl with short indigo hair. So why is this encounter significant, one may question. It's due to the pile of books that, a second ago, was in her arms. Now, because of gravity's natural effect of pulling everything toward the center of earth, the unleashed wave of literature, as well as the girl herself, headed straight for the bespectacled blonde.

Takeru, recognizing the danger, reacted quickly to dash up the stairs, jumping and stretching out to catch the girl in his arm just in time, and landed on one knee safely. "Whew…that was dangerous of you." Takeru let out a sigh of relief. The girl, who had closed her eyes to brace for the fall, turned full scarlet from embarrassment, of her own clumsiness and the fact that a person she didn't know was now holding her, "Thank…Thank you…" she said, stuttering out of embarrassment.

Takeru sat her down gently on the steps and helped her pick up the scattered books all over the floor while she relieved her shock. "Maybe I should help you carry them, miss."  
"Ah, um…" having a man's help would make her task easier, so she pondered for a bit. "Thank you for your offer, but the library's actually not too far from here now, so I think I can carry them by myself the rest of the way."  
"I see, well here you go then" he responded cheerfully as he handed the now standing girl her pile.

"Well, thank you for your help, mister. I will see you later," with that she gave him a light bow (which was more like an acknowledging nod permissible by the books she now held again in her arms) and took leave from his presence.

"Be careful now, miss," he bade her goodbye, before he remembered something quite important, and called after the girl. "Hey, wait a second!"

"Yes?" she turned around at his calling, confused as to what more he wanted with her.

The bespectacled blonde scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Um…can you tell me where the principal's office is?"

The office turned out to be on the third floor in the west wing of the school. Takeru stood before the wooden double door which guarded the principal's office, and went in. The room was filled with the rays from the bright, afternoon sun shining through the window. It wasn't a spectacularly large, and two bookshelves on either side actually took up about majority of the available space, making it even less capacious. An oak desk was positioned near the window at the end of the walkway created by the two bookshelves, and a tall leather chair sat behind the desk, turned toward the outside world. As soon as Takeru closed the door the leather chair spun around slowly, reveal behind it a middle-aged man. He had long ebony hair that reached to his back, of which he fixed into a ponytail. His countenance was fair and gentle, and a pair of small round reading glasses sat comfortably on his nose. "Greetings, my name is Matsuda Fujitaka, the principal of this school. How may I be of service to you?"

"I'm Takaishi Takeru. I…received a letter saying that you want to see me?" Takeru said.

"Oh yes, I've been expecting you, Takeru-kun," he replied, and then commented. "I'm sure you've heard this many times before, but you look a lot like your brother."  
Actually, it was the contrary. He had only heard this from his and Rika's parents before. Also apart from family photos, he had only seen, or at least remembered seeing, his famous brother four or five time up until his death. "You knew my brother, sir?"  
"Yes. I was his magical combat instructor back when he was still a student at Corneria. He was a good man, Yamato. It's a shame he and his friends had to pass on at such a young age, but I believe he lived a very fulfilling life."  
"Yes…I suppose," Takeru responded with hints of sorrow.  
Principal Fujitaka noticed that he said too much, and quickly averted the subject, "Anyways, back to us. I suppose you have the transferring forms from the Board of Magical Education with you?"  
"No, I haven't received them yet. They are due to arrive a week from today, I believe."  
"I see, then you need not worry, I'll request for them to be sent here directly." He reached for the top drawer, opened it, and took out a few forms to hand it to Takeru. "Now, I'll need your signature as well as copies of your transcript and graduation certificate. See to it that it is done soon."  
"I will, sir. Is there anything else?"  
"No, that's pretty much it."  
"I see, then I should probably…"  
He was about to bow and take his leave, but was cut off by the principal, who chuckled. "What's the rush? Stay a spell and chat with this lonely man. Or am I making you uncomfortable?"  
Takeru quickly responded, "No sir, that's not it. It's just that Sakuya-san is probably waiting for me now."  
"I see. How is that daughter of mine doing, by the way?"

"Sakuya-san?"

Principal Fujitaka chuckled again, "You haven't figured it out yet from our last names?"  
Takeru pondered for a bit, "Matsuda…Fujitaka…Matsuda…Sakuya…oh…I see. Oh man, I should have known. She looks almost identical to you as well!" It's true the resemblance was shocking. Apart from the obvious gender factor, the only noticeable difference was perhaps the eyes. While Sakuya possessed a set of sepia, Fujitaka's were jet black.

"It's all right, no offense taken. Now Takeru-kun, I was wondering if you would listen to a request from me."  
The teen wondered what he could possibly ask for, "Anything, sir. What is it?"  
"Well, I'm afraid I haven't been a very good father to Sakuya in the past, as I was mostly busy with my own things. And even now we do not live together. So I was hoping that, now you're here by her side. May I, ask you to watch over Sakuya in my stead?"  
His comment actually reminded him of a very important question he had in the back of his time ever since he found out the father-daughter relationship between the two Matsudas. _Why isn't Matsuda-san living with Sakuya-san?_ But then again, he thought, there must had been complications in the past, of which he probably shouldn't butt in.

"Watch over her? Matsuda-san, it's Sakuya-san that is the one that's helping me out, not the other way around."  
"That's not what I mean, but you'll understand soon enough." Fujitaka sighed, and then spoke again. "She may look like she is tough and able on the outside, but under that tough exterior façade she's…anyways I'm truly sorry for passing my burden to you."  
_Does everyone think that about Sakuya-san around here?_ Takeru wondered. "Okay sir. I promise I'll look after her, but I still think you are overly anxious. Sakuya-san is a very tough, strong-will girl, and I know it sounds weak coming from someone who's just met her but, I believe she can take care of herself, without anyone's help," he expressed his opinion of the girl, granted he had only known her for one day.

"Let it be so. I'm her father and yet I can't always be there for her because of my obligations, so I'm worried."  
"Don't worry sir, I will do my best." The blonde reassured him.  
"I will thank you in advance then, Takeru-kun. Now, it's best that you return to that willful daughter of mine. I'm afraid that she'll become angry with me if I detain you any longer," he chuckled at the thought.

"Then, if there's nothing else, good day to you, Matsuda-san."  
"Yes…good day to you too, then," the older man said.

After bidding farewell, Takeru exited through the double door, walked down the hall, and descended the stairs. As Takeru disappeared down the stairs another person entered the principal's office. His suit and trousers were the color of grey, which complimented his spiky, silver hair. "So what do you think of the boy, Fujitaka-sensei?" he said.

"He's a nice kid. Though he was nothing like the willful, gifted Yamato-kun I knew, I still like him a lot."  
"I knew you would, sensei. Though I have different opinions than you. I think Takeru-kun has latent potentials that even Yamato did not possess." Joe Weatherforth smiled.

"But, I do wonder if he's able to shoulder the tasks that are ahead of him?"  
"Believe in him, sensei, like you had believed in us."  
"I see, then I shall pray hard to the deities for his future success."

Meanwhile, having miraculously not gotten lost as he retraced his steps, Takeru exited the school building and found himself in the courtyard once again. Sakuya was waiting by the iron gate, leaning against the red brick wall. When she saw him she waved. Takeru waved back and approached her.

"Tou-chan sure talks a lot, doesn't he, Takeru-kun." Sakuya stated as he walked up to her.

"Sorry it took so long, Sakuya-san." He added. "Your father is an interesting person. And _why_ didn't you tell me he was your father?"  
"You never asked," she said simply. "He didn't say anything embarrassing, did he?"  
"Well…he did ask me to take care of you."  
"Bah…worrisome Tou-chan, when is he going to figure out I'm not a three-year-old anymore?"  
"He's just cares for you, that's all," the blonde commented.  
"You're supposed to be on _my_ side, Takeru-kun!" Sakuya pouted indignantly.  
"Just stating the truth, Sakuya-san." Takeru replied, laughing at her childish behavior.

The two then left the school and headed back to the Yagami Inn. They caught the bus and got off at the stop in Kiromachi's residential area. Retracing their steps from this morning, they arrived back at their beloved home.


	8. First Day of School

Ah, the alarm clock, the damned alarm clock. It exerted its full force of awakening tune within the dark silence of room six. The sleepy figure resting comfortably on the futon stirred at its effect. Reaching out with his right hand, Takeru turned off his alarm clock and sat up hastily. Unfortunately, he could not afford to sleep in today. After clearing his head, he jumped onto his feet and yawned as he stretched his still asleep limbs. As he opened his curtains, the rays of bright morning sun illuminate the dark room. He winced as light met his eyes growing accustomed to the bright day. After having received his other luggage from the airline shortly after New Year's Day, he spent the entire day yesterday finishing decorating his formerly empty room. Hikari and the other tenants offered to help, but he thought it best to do it by himself. After all, he couldn't afford their finding out that, with the exception of Sakuya, he had in his possession of spell books and magical artifacts. Thus he labored for hours, unpacking and arranging what necessities he had shipped from home. A desk, a collapsible cabinet, and a metal grid bookshelf now took formal residence in the corners. Those things magically related, like a couple of spellbooks and notes he brought, remained sealed and was hidden in the back of the closet. Takeru eyed at his handiwork with satisfaction as he switched out of his pajamas, stripping bare to nothing but a pair of blue and white striped boxer. He looked for his new school uniform, which arrived yesterday, and found them lying neatly in the bottom drawer of the cabinet. It certainly was a plain uniform. Both the shirt and pants were completely black, the shirt fixated with silvery buttons. He retrieved them, and was just beginning to pull on his pants when his door slammed opened forcibly.

"Takeru-kun! Morning! It's a nice weather today isn't it…" Sakuya, who walked in, and became dumbstruck and speechless as she witnessed the scene before her.

"Um…Sakuya…" Takeru, realizing they are in a very awkward position, tried to think of various ways he could work around it and make it seem like nothing had happened. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. _Why the hell didn't she knock!_ was all he could think about.  
Sakuya, who, after a few seconds regained her consciousness, made no sound, said no words, and turned around to walk straight out the door, closing it quietly behind her and leaving a dumbfounded, red-faced Takeru alone in the room. A while later Takeru, dressed in his new outfit, departed his bedroom. Having checked himself out in the full body mirror glued to the door of the cabinet, he thought the Kiromachi High uniform fit him quite nicely. Of course, he wasn't being narcissistic or anything, but damn he looked good!

"Looks good on you, Takeru-kun. You now join the rank of thousands of Japanese students who look exactly the same." said Sakuya, as if having read his mind. She was waiting outside room six, leaning to the wall. "And…" she continued, with crimson cheeks, "sorry for walking in on you." She herself wore the Kiromachi High uniform, though the ladies' design was much livelier than they guys'. It consisted of a red and white paired long-sleeve top with silver ribbon ornament fastened to the collars, which was meant to be tied into a bow. A red, mid-thigh length skirt completed the outfit, perhaps revealing too much of the girls' thighs to public eyes. Well, as mini-skirts were the fetishes and fantasies of men, Takeru wasn't eager to complain.

"It's okay, it was my fault for not locking the door. I guess we're even now from our first meeting," Takeru replied. It really wasn't, though, as he wasn't too embarrassed about her seeing him. He however, had an eyeful of the outline of her nice curves on day one. It wasn't a fair trade in the least, but hell he could care less.

Sakuya eyed him with a dangerous glare, "You're not thinking of something perverted, are you now Takeru-kun?"

"O-Of course not, Sakuya," he really need to stop displaying his mind on his face all the time. Throughout the rest of the winter vacation Takeru had become quite close with both Hikari and Sakuya. He was finally becoming comfortable to drop the honorifics from the end of their names. It was a sign that the three's friendships were consolidating quite nicely.  
The two proceeded down to the kitchen, where Hikari (also wearing the same outfit as Sakuya), Takeshi, and Minako were already chowing down their breakfast of rice, a few plates of small dishes, and miso soup. To their surprise today Shiratori Ryushi joined the ranks, sipping on his nice cup of warm tea in the seat next to Hikari while enjoying the newspapers. All stopped their activities and lifted their heads when the two latecomers finally joined them.

"Good morning, everyone," Takeru and Sakuya greeted.

"Good morning," the four replied. While Minako and Takeshi proceeded on eating, Hikari stood up, walked to the rice cooker, and filled two more bows with rice. She then distributed them to the two.

"Here you go, you two. What took you guys so long to get down here?" Hikari asked while retrieving two pairs of chopsticks from the cupboard.

"Some things are not worth mentioning, Hikari-chan," Sakuya said flatly, although the thought of Takeru's almost naked body again resurfaced in her mind, effectively dying her cheek with a shade of pink.  
Hikari, sensing her friend's intention to evade her question, ventured a guess. "Let me guess…" she observed both Takeru and Sakuya's face, which showed tints of red hue from the bringing up of the subject, and concluded dead on, "Sakuya walked in on you while you were changing. Didn't she, Takeru-kun?"  
"How…How in the world could you possibly know, Hikari?" Takeru asked, more surprised at the accuracy of her conjecture than embarrassed that she blurted it out for the world to know. Upon hearing this interesting piece of news Minako and Ryushi stopped what they were doing and with interests engaged at watching the three like viewing a drama clip. Takeshi made no signs of stopping his eating, but the speed at which he was enjoying his meal decreased. He was clearly, at the very least, piqued.

"Well…it's Sakuya we're talking about here. Plus you're expression was just like Shiratori-san's last time when she walked in on him while he…mmhf…mmhf…" Hikari's comment was disrupted by Sakuya's hands, which sealed her lips tightly. Upon the mention of his name Ryushi's face also obtained a pink hue as he coughed loudly for no apparent reason and returned to his morning newspaper and tea. Minako laughed merrily, clearly enjoying this short episode of morning comedy. Takeshi chuckled as he shook his head at the three older teen's silliness, and continued his breakfast.

"You don't have to broadcast every single one of my embarrassing moments to the world, Hikari-chan!" said a very red Sakuya.  
"Well…serves you right for not knocking before going into their rooms," Hikari retorted jokingly after freeing herself from Sakuya.  
"_Oh_…now you're just making fun of me. That's unforgivable, Hikari-chan! Time for tickle attack!"

"_Ah_! Help me Takeru-kun!" shrieked Hikari merrily, hiding herself behind Takeru from Sakuya's nimble fingers.

"Well well well, it looks like Minako-chan isn't the only kids around here," commented the bespectacled blonde. "And as much as I enjoy watching you kids having a fine morning, shouldn't we be getting ready for school?" he informed them of the cruel reality.

"Psh…you're too boring, Takeru-kun." Sakuya said with disdain.

"But…speaking of which, Sakuya, weren't you suppose to help your senpai to do some paperwork this morning?" Hikari remembered, after the commotion at the expense of Sakuya died down.

"Eh? Holy crap! _I totally forgot!_ Futaki-senpai's gonna kill me dead!" Sakuya cried out as she made a grab for her school bag, and hurriedly dashed out of the kitchen door toward the entrance, leaving behind her a trail of dust.

"I really wish Sakuya-chan will fix that scattered brain of hers sometimes soon. We're getting to an age where important things can't be forgotten without dire consequences," the innkeeper commented thoughtfully.

"Knowing her though, it'd probably take years before she correct it," the blonde next to her responded, at which Hikari could only knowingly agree.

Half an hour later, the four students left the premise of Yagami-sou toward their respective destinations. As the elementary school and kindergarten the two youngsters attended lay at the opposite side of town from Kiromachi High, Takeru and Hikari bade farewell and parted ways with the Takehara siblings. The teenage blonde stretched his still sleepy arms and back while he walked beside his sepia-haired friend, "Hmm…I'm still kind of tired…"  
"You didn't sleep well last night, Takeru-kun?"  
"No, that's not it. It's just have never woken up this early before."  
"Really? Waking up at six is quite normal around here, because you have to get to school in time."  
"Japanese school system sure is as rigorous as I've heard from my father…"  
"Speaking of which, your father seems to be quite knowledgeable about Japan." Hikari commented.

"Of course, he moved to the UK when he was around twenty years old, so he's been through some levels of the Japanese schooling."  
"Eh…? He moved to England? But I though he is a foreigner?"  
"No. He was born and raised in Japan. That's why I'm half and half."  
"I see. I can't really tell by just looking at you."  
"I inherited most of my physical traits from my mother, I suppose. My sister looks a bit more oriental, though she has blonde hair as well."  
"You neglected telling me you have a sister! How old is she?"  
"She's ten, and ridiculously smart. She's had gone through accelerated courses all her life and is already on her last year at the ma-, I mean boarding school where I graduated from last year."  
"That's impressive!" said an impressed Hikari. "It must be hard on you to have such a bright sister."  
"No…she may be smart but she's still a little kid after all. I think I've spoiled her a little too much…"  
While they carried on their conversation, they reached the station and boarded the bus to the downtown district, where other travelers of little importance and students, also wearing the Kiromachi's red and black, chattered loudly and merrily, freely conversing about their enjoyable holidays and the things they did.

"Hikari, right here!" Two girls sitting at around the midsection of the bus called out to the young manager's attention.  
"Komari-chan! Tomoyo-chan! How've you been!" Noticing her friends, Hikari broke her conversation with Takeru and greeted them. She then walked up to them, with Takeru following close behind. Sitting near the aisle was the blue-eyed, long silver-haired Sakagami Tomoyo.  
"How was your holiday, Hikari-chan?" questioned the girl named Kamikita Komari, sitting next to the window. She wore her shoulder-length sandy hair into two pigtails at the top sides of her head. Her cyan colored eyes shone with joyous radiance, happy to see her good friend the young innkeeper.

"It was great! The inn was especially lively this year, with the addition of our new member. How were your vacations, you guys?"  
"Ahh…the same old routine. Sleep, eat, exercise, do some homework, and the cycle starts over the next day. For residents of this town that's pretty much all we _can_ do over long breaks," answered Tomoyo, who sat at the right of Komari. She then took notice of Takeru, who stood idle next to Hikari, half listening to the three's conversation. She smiled, and pulled Hikari in close so only Hikari and Komari she could hear her.

"My, my, Hikari. You've certainly caught a big fish this time! What a good looking stud!" Tomoyo joked.  
"Arah, me thinks Tomoyo is right, Hikari-chan!" Komari also joined in on the fun.  
Hikari turned slightly pink from her friends' friendly suggestions and quickly retorted, "Takeru-kun and I aren't like that, you guys! He's the new tenant I told you guys about before break started."  
"_Oh_! So he is the new mysterious foreigner we've heard so much about," Tomoyo nodded in a feigned wiseass fashion.  
While the girl talk took place, the bus door closed, and the bus began to move.

"Um…Hikari. The bus is moving so I'm gonna find a seat in the back okay?" Takeru said, worrying about safety issues.

"Ah! Then I'll go with you, Takeru-kun." Hikari said, feeling a bit ashamed of leaving Takeru out of their conversation.

"I'll be fine, Hikari. Stay with your friends. You haven't seen them for a while after all," he gave her an assuring smile and left to find an unoccupied seat.

"Oh…now I feel bad…" Hikari sighed. "Sorry, you guys," she clapped her hands together to offer her apology and quickly left Komari and Tomoyo to go after Takeru.  
"It seems we've been ditched, dear Komari." Tomoyo said, but without any hard feelings.

"Don't you think it's interesting though? I do wonder how everyone will react," Komari replied as she retrieved from her bag a piece of chocolate, merrily devoured it and went off into her own world daydreaming about her sepia-haired friend's possible future. Just what she had in mind for the brunette and the blonde no one would ever know.

Meanwhile, Takeru managed to find an empty row near the back of the bus. He occupied it, placing his school bag in the empty chair next to him, and proceeded to stare blankly out of the window.  
"May I sit here?" Takeru spun around and looked to the direction of the voice. It belonged to Hikari, who wore an apologetic face.

"What about your friends? Wouldn't they want you to sit with them?"  
"They'll be fine. Besides, you're my friend too, right?"  
Takeru smiled at her answer, moved his bag, and patted the mat two times, beckoning her to sit down. Hikari squealed merrily, and moved into the seat. "Sorry about that, Takeru. It was rude of me to leave you out like that." she apologized.

"It's fine, Hikari-san, you don't have to concern yourself with such trivial matters," he again assured her it was no big deal.

"It was no trivial matter! I value all friendships dearly, so it bothers me when one of my friends feels left out!"

"You know, Hikari. I have a feeling someday you are gonna break a guy's heart just because you are so willing to trade in your own happiness for the sake of others," Takeru foretold. Of course he meant it as a joke.

Hikari pondered on his statement, "Well, if you apply it to this situation, your statement wouldn't hold true, would it? Since after all, I'm perfectly happy sitting right next to you right now." Without any shame, any hesitance, she said this. Her frankness dealt a critical blow to Takeru's heart, which palpitated faster as blood rushed through his cheeks. Not knowing how to respond to her, he fell silent. Hikari recorded this as her win. For the rest of the short bus ride the two sat contently next to each other, silently gazing around the bus and listening to the incessant chattering of their contemporaries.

Not soon after, the bus came to a stop in front of Kiromachi High School's stop. Takeru and Hikari descended together with the crowd of students, and followed them toward the school's iron gate. Many people who recognized Hikari eagerly bade her good morning, of which she returned with merry greetings.

"You seem really popular, Hikari," Takeru commented offhand as they passed through the front entrance.

"I wouldn't say popular, just somewhat known. I have no idea why though…"  
_I may have an idea…_Takeru thought, but did not convey his thinking to the beautiful, graceful girl that was walking beside him. Takeru wondered why she wasn't surrounded by endless torrents of suitors. Rika certainly got many guys confessing to her every day back in their Corneria days. Of course, this was before she had become his girlfriend. "Perhaps things are different in Japan…" Takeru muttered to himself absent-mindedly.

"Did you say something, Takeru-kun?" Hikari asked hearing his mutter.

"Ah, no…I didn't."  
"I see, I thought you had a question or something."  
Nervous sweat dripped from his cheek. _I seriously need to stop talking to myself…_ the British youngster thought with contemplation.

The two parted way once they arrived at the second floor inside the building, Hikari heading for her classroom while Takeru headed for the principal's office. "See you later, Takeru-kun! I hope you'll be in my class. If not, let's have lunch together!" she told him and proceeded down the right hall where class 2-B was located, turning around one more time to wave at him before disappearing into the mass of students. Takeru returned the gesture and walked up the stairs to the third floor. Many third years rushed past him to try to get into class on time. Seeing this, Takeru felt at ease. Even at a normal school nothing changes about students' behaviors. This fact released some of the nervousness he had for entering a new, normal school.  
After searching around for a while he finally found the oak double door with the sign the principal's office next to it on the wall. Takeru twisted the knob, opened the door, and walked in. "Um…Principal Matsuda? Takaishi Takeru reporting in." he proclaimed.  
Behind the moderately sized wooden desk was no other than the Kiromachi High School principal himself, and standing next to him was the silver-haired Joe Weatherforth. They appeared to be in a deep conversation before Takeru's arrival. "Excuse me…am I interrupting anything?" Takeru asked.

"No, Takeru-kun. We were merely discussing which class to place you in. Joe-kun here from today on will be you homeroom teacher, Takeru-kun," Fujitaka said with a smile.

"Really? Then it is my pleasure to be your student, Weatherforth-sensei!" Takeru said it half-mockingly and half-seriously, trying to tease his older friend.

"Don't try to make fun of me, Takeru-kun. After all, I do have the power to give you detentions now," Joe smiled evilly.  
Shocked, Takeru panicked and quickly apologized to his academic superior. "S-sorry, sensei."

"As long as we understand each other, _Takaishi-kun_." Joe said with triumphant.

"Anyways," Matsuda Fujitaka reined in on the casual conversation. "Takeru-kun, you are now a member of the junior class 2-B and…" He then placed his left hand on a small but considerable pile of books. "These are your textbooks. You are to catch up to the current pace of the class in a week. Can we expect you to do that?"  
"A _week_?" Takeru exclaimed with an astonished tone.

"It's all part of the training, Takeru-kun," Joe cut in. "Of course, this little amount of work would not faze you, would it? After all, mages of the Dansforth house are well known for their intellectual abilities." he stated sarcastically. Takeru eyed him bitterly, clearly his older friend was enjoying his agony.

"Uh…of course not, Matsuda-san" Takeru answered reluctantly, but deep down he know he was in deep trouble. _No matter how good I am at studying, there's no way in hell I'd be able to catch up! Damn that Joe-san…I ain't Mo-chan, you know!_ Takeru reflected bitterly.

"_Achoo_!" Across the globe, in Corneria Magical Academy, a certain strawberry blonde ten-year-old sneezed.

"Did you catch a cold yesterday, Mo-chan?" asked the raven-haired Iris Blanchimont, concerned of her friend's health.

"Maybe I did stay a little too long reading the _History of Guardian Revolution_. Either that or someone's thinking ill of me." replied Mogusaki Takeishi ruffling her nose.

Well, back to Japan…

"Anyways, that's that. If you have any other questions feel free to swing by my office, otherwise welcome aboard to the first phase of you training, Takeru-kun." Fujitaka extended out his right hand, which Takeru took and shook.

Joe and Takeru then left the principal's office together. They walked side by side down the hallway toward the stairs. Out of the formal atmosphere of the principal's office, Takeru extend his concern to his older friend, "I fail to see how this is training, Joe-san…" Takeru protested.

"Magical apprenticeship is not only about heightening one's abilities, you know. Strength, character, as well as knowledge must be developed fully to discipline oneself to effectively wield stronger magical powers."  
"I know that…but this…is way too much work!"  
"Give it a try, Takeru. You haven't spent ten years in Corneria for nothing."  
"True that…" Takeru sighed and resigned to his fate.  
Before long they arrived outside of the 1-B classroom. "Come in when I call you okay?" With that Joe stepped into the classroom, leaving Takeru in the hallway.

Inside of the room was chaotic ruckus. The free studying period apparently had turned into a full cacophony of student conversations, which was all too familiar to their homeroom and English teacher Joe Weatherforth. But once the students noticed their tall, somewhat menacing silver-haired instructor, the chattering started to die down.

"Stand!" the class representative commanded after Joe had received everyone's attention. "Bow!" with the second command the whole class bowed to their teacher, "Good morning, Weatherforth-sensei!" said everyone together.

"Good morning, everyone. Glad to see you all utilizing your free time effectively," his statement warranted some snickers from his students. "And as you all should know by now, we are having a new student today."  
"Sensei! Is it a guy or a girl?"  
"Unfortunately for you, Kojima-san, it is a guy," and upon hearing that the male half of the class groaned.

"Sensei! Is he hot?"  
"It's not my job to decide that, Yoshida-san. Why don't you all see and find out. Takeru-kun, come on in."  
In the midst of the class filled with students, two heads perked up after hearing the name.  
Takeru came in to the class and walked to the teacher's podium. He then turned around and faced the whole class, adjusting his glasses in the process. Joe wrote his name in katagana on the blackboard as he walked in, "Why don't you introduce yourself a little?"  
"Ok. Everyone, my full name is Takeru Winston Dansforth Takaishi, but for the sake of convenience please just call me Takaishi Takeru. As you may tell from my name I'm half-Japanese. I used to live in the United Kingdom, but had come here to learn more about my father's home country. I hope to get along with everyone, and am pleased to be in your care," he then bowed slightly.

"And from the starry eyes of about half of the class, I'd say your question is answered, Yoshida-san," Joe-sensei commented after everyone finished clapping. "Now…as for the seating. Takeru-kun, why don't you sit…there." he pointed to the empty seat next to a certain tan-haired girl.  
With an acknowledgement Takeru walked toward his assigned seat. He placed his stack of books onto his new desk, and sat down. "Is it coincidence or what? Hikari, Sakuya."

Takeru greeted Yagami Hikari, who sat to his left, and Matsuda Sakuya, who sat to his front. "It certainly is, Takeru-kun," Sakuya replied merrily.

"This is great! Please to be in your care as always, Takeru-kun," Hikari said with a smile.

With this brief conversation the atmosphere of the whole class changed. As Takeru sat down in his seat he sensed, with some fear and confusion, barrages and waves of killer intents from all side. Nervously, he slowly looked around the class, only to be met by death glares from every guy in the class. _How dare that transfer student talk to Yagami-san! Yagami-san called him Takeru-kun! We need to teach him a lesson!_ The above were the less inappropriate thoughts of the male population of the class. Takeru grew sweaty with nervousness and looked down at his desk, terrified. _What is this bad feeling I'm getting…_ he thought to himself. This was almost an exact replay of the time when he and Rika's relationship first went public. He remembered that it took at least half a year for the public detestation to die down.

Anyways after the long and tedious hours of Japanese school system, the bell finally rang for lunch. Having somewhat survived the tense air of the room, Takeru collapsed on his desk, and let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong, Takeru-kun? You don't look too good." Hikari asked anxiously, having noticed for the whole time that Takeru's face was quite pale.

"I'm…okay, Hikari. Don't worry about me," Takeru lied, not wanting to worry his young landlord.

"Feeling pressured, aren't you?" Sakuya commented at Takeru. Apparently she had noticed the boy's change in mood unlike Hikari, who remained oblivious. After all, she had anticipated something like this to happen.

"Yagami-san, Matsuda-san. It seems like you are having a good time. But if you don't mind can we borrow the new student for a bit?" almost in perfect accordance, a crowd of guys from the class gathered around them, demanding Takeru.

"Ah, why of course!" Hikari replied with a big smile. Her answer shocked both Takeru and Sakuya. This was like feeding bait to a hungry school of sharks! But before the two could protest, Takeru was already dragged off by the guy group.

"Arah, Takeru-kun has made so many friends so fast! And there I was worried that he wouldn't be able to fit in," Hikari obliviously commented.

"Uh…I don't think they intent on befriending him, Hikari-chan…" Sakuya sighed. _I better check it out before things get out of hand_, she thought to herself. She told Hikari to not wait for her to eat and raced after the boys.

Meanwhile the Takeru's entourage dragged him to the deserted corner behind the gym. They pushed him roughly into the corner, causing him to slam into the metal wall of the storage room and fall butt first onto the ground. Takeru gazed up at his angry mob of classmates and humbly asked, "Um…what do you all want with me?" he thought of trying to resolve this peacefully.

"Let us get something straight, maggot. You're new so we'll let you off easy today. Yagami-san is off limit, so don't you go think that you can go and hit on her." A tall, muscular student, apparently an athlete and representing the group, walked out of the crowd and stood before Takeru. Standing erect, he was probably a head taller than Takeru. "_Do you understand me blondie?_" He grabbed him by the collar and shouted into his face, saliva landed on Takeru's face in the process.  
Beginning to understand the situation, Takeru sighed with resignation at his naivety. He used his right hand to wipe off the muscular athlete's spit. When his eyes were again revealed it was no longer of cheerfulness, but one of stern stalwartness, "That's quite disgusting you know. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"  
"_Don't ignore me! I asked do you…_" but before the athlete can finish, Takeru freed himself from his grasp, knelt down turning away from him. Leaning again his tall body, he secured the athlete's wrist and forearm, kicked his opponent off balance and performed an over shoulder throw, tossing his oversized mass into the storage's metal gate. He took off his glasses and wiped it with his uniform. "Sorry…but you were rough with me first," Takeru apologized to the now unconscious jock lying on the floor.  
Witnessing this, every guy in the group became even more pumped up. "_Get him!_" they shouted, and ran toward Takeru in a mob. Takeru, seeing this, lowered into a fighting position, and readied himself.

But before the two opposing forces could collide, a loud voice rang through the air. "_Stop it you idiots!_" The voice belonged to Sakuya, who finally caught up with the boys.  
The guy mob halted and looked toward the obsidian haired girl, who proceeded toward the group. "Matsuda, stay out of this!" demanded the guys.  
"Kind of hard, seeing that you're giving a friend of mine a hard time. And did you forget I'm with the disciplinarian committee? Keeping order within the school is my job, you know?" Sakuya answered, crossing her arms. "Plus, if you all claim to truly like Hikari-chan, would she want you to do this kind of things?"  
Having heard her scolding, the crowd came to a silence. A few moments it began to disperse as the students began to head back to class. Some walked away silently, but others turned their heads to scowl at and give Takeru death glares and threats.

"Thanks, Sakuya." said Takeru after everybody cleared out but them.

"It was nothing. You could have easily beaten them up if you wanted."  
"Not true. Since I can't use magic, I'd probably get trampled by them," he said. "And from this experience, I can see that Hikari-san's well received."  
"That's an understatement. She has admirers all over the school, even among upperclassmen. And speaking of the devil, who do we have here?" as she said Sakuya noticed a figure, apparently eavesdropping on them, behind the corner of the two converging walls.

"Good senses as always, Matsuda," said the person, coming into sight. He was a tall, black-haired man. Just saying he's good looking wouldn't do him justice, yet he possessed a holier-than-thou aura surrounding him. Well-toned, he easily towered over Takeru as he stared his dark brown eyes down directly into Takeru's own blue pair. "So you are the cause of this ruckus. Tch…not even worth my time."  
Takeru said nothing, but only stared back. Different from the other guys who had surrounded him earlier, he could feel something from him, a strange…strength behind him, as if he could readily back up his words with no problem.  
"Kimikura-senpai, what can we do for you?" Sakuya asked, with a bit of resentment.

"Rumor spreads fast, so I'm just here to meet the new guy who dares to try to make a move on my woman," said the cocky upperclassman named Kimikura.  
"Hikari-chan isn't yours, so stop saying things that will cause confusion," Sakuya sighed heavily. This guy's overflowing confidence in himself was sickening.  
Kimikura only laughed, but not taking his glance off Takeru. "So, a foreigner, is it? Not much of a challenge. Bet you can't even speak Japanese right."  
"Make no mistake, I can speak it fine, thank you very much." Takeru replied indignantly.

"Ah, so you can talk. And there I thought you were mute for a while. Let me make something straight here, new guy. I suggest that you don't cross the line. Lay one finger on my girl and you will regret it for the rest of your life. Did I make myself clear?"  
"Let _me_ make something straight too then, senpai. What goes on between me and Hikari is none of your business." determined not to lose to this bully, Takeru made his defense. He was prepared to stand his own ground, by force if necessary.

"A defiant one, I see. You would one day beg to eat your own words," Kimikura sneered, and turned around to walk away. He held in the urge to punch the bespectacled blonde in the face, as Sakuya was a member of the disciplinary committee after all. "My name is Kimikura Youhei, a senior, remember it. You have been forewarned." with that last words he departed.

"Impressive, Takeru-kun. Not many people stood up to that intimidation." complimented Sakuya when the overconfident senior that was Kimikura Youhei was out of earshot.

"Well, he was being unreasonable. Plus what is he worried about? Hikari-san and I are just friends." Takeru said.  
Sakuya laughed, and replied, "Oh? That's too bad. I had hoped you and Hikari-chan will hook up someday."  
Takeru spun around, slightly red-faced. "What are you talking about, Sakuya. That's not funny. I'm here for training, not to date anyone!" and with finality to this conversation he departed as the warning bell rang.

Sakuya chuckled at her blonde friend's innocence and followed him. The two arrived just as the bell rang for the afternoon session. As the afternoon class progressed, Takeru constantly took short glances at the sepia-haired girl. _If thing are like this today…then I wonder how the days after will be? _Takeru sighed with some worry.


	9. Demons, First Encounter

"How's Mogusaki-chan, Takeru-kun?" The question was directed to Takaishi Takeru, who at the moment stood next to him, looking out of a window from the deserted hallway.

"She's doing fine. By the way she really liked the birthday present you picked out for her, so she wanted me to thank you." Scent of grey smoke permeated through the immediate atmosphere surrounding two figures, of gold and silver hair. Joe Quincy Weatherforth drew in another puff of the commonplace stimulant, and exhaled the exhaust.

Hearing that his present was well received, he smiled, "It's the least I can do, since I never have time to go back. I'm glad she liked it. She's, on her last year in Corneria correct?"

"Yup," responded Mogusaki's brother. "It seems like the graduating class this year is finally starting to prepare for graduation. It really was hell during this time last year, having to cram everything for the final examinations."

"Ahaha, it sounds like a fun experience," the older man joked.

"You make it sound like you've never went through the graduating exams, Joe-san."

"Oh, did I not tell you? I technically never graduated Corneria. Out of the six of us, only Hsiro ever went back to finish his coursework," Joe explained.

Takeru was stunned by Joe's revelation. The spectacled blonde proceeded to ask about more stuff of his older friend's past, and of those of the Wings of Justice. As Joe liked to reminisce about his Corneria days, he shared with Takeru his own stories, as well as those of his other five friends on a regular basis. This was one of those times, though after a while, the silver-haired man brought the topic back to what he had called him out to ask in the first place. That is, Takeru's progress.

"Well, I'm pretty much caught up with most things. Hikari and the others really made the transition much smoother."  
"I see. I guess I was worried for nothing," Joe grinned widely, happy that his old friend's brother was well taken care of.  
The two mages continued to chatter away, leisurely enjoying the lunch break. Takeru had now been in Japan for almost a month. As the wintery season continued on, slowly but surely he got used to the Japanese lifestyle. Although it was difficult to play catch up, Takeru demonstrated his solid determination and in no time was fully integrated with Japanese language and culture, capable of not needing anymore Raging Gale's passive assistance. Thanks to the efforts of the young manager especially, who tirelessly aided him to in coping with his new lifestyle, he now fitted perfectly in the oriental environment. He was mightily grateful to her thus, who went out of her way to make him feel at home in this foreign country. Yet, after a month of nothing but fitting in to the Japanese society, Takeru was beginning to wonder just why he was sent here.

"But it's odd, Joe-san," he expressed his bewilderment. "I'm sent here for apprentice magi training and yet, what I'm doing is just trying to be a normal person. I'm kind of confused as to why I'm here."  
Joe removed his cigarette from his mouth and blew out yet another cloud of grey smoke. "Give it some time. I'm sure you'll find out your purpose here soon enough. Plus, don't you welcome the chance to familiarize yourself to Kiromachi before taking on any other tasks?"  
Though Joe's comment was, agreeable, Takeru turned away from the outdoors and eyed his friend and teacher, squinting to study him closely for any clue. "Joe-san, you wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?" Takeru tested.  
Joe chuckled, "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." He said in a playful tone, leaving Takeru in the shroud of mystery.  
"Takeru-kun! There you are!" cried an approaching third voice. Takeru and Joe turned to look toward the direction of its advent. The voice belonged to Yagami Hikari, who jogged up to the two guys.  
"Hikari, what's up?" asked the bespectacled blonde.  
"I was looking all over for you! You said you needed to use the toilet and disappeared for a good half an hour!"  
"That would be my fault, Yagami-kun. I bumped him in the bathroom and asked Takeru-kun here to accompany me for a bit."  
"Well, that's fine, but Sakuya-chan and I have been waiting for you to eat lunch."  
"I thought I told you guys to eat first?" asked a surprised Takeru.  
"We waited only because we thought you would be fast, but who would have guessed that you'd sidetrack," pouted Hikari.  
"Sorry Hikari…I'll make it up to you somehow!" clapping his hand together Takeru apologized.  
But as Takeru sincerely apologized, Hikari started giggling, "I'm only teasing you Takeru-kun. Come on, let's head back," she said as she turned facing the way from whence she had come.

"Ok, Hikari. Well, see you later then, Joe-san," Takeru bid his friend and teacher goodbye as he followed the footsteps of the young landlady.  
The silver-haired Joe Weatherforth watched his students gradually disappear down the hall. _If Yamato-kun was still alive, I wonder how he well he would take his kid brother's relationship with her,_ he could not but help think. After all, whenever the topic had shift to his younger sibling, Yamato would always have a fond yet worried look, even while they were worlds apart. _But how does the little brunette princess think of Takeru-kun, I do wonder?_ He chuckled at the thought as he quietly turned himself around and walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

As soon as the sepia-haired landlady and his blonde tenant arrive at the classroom, the bell sounded to terminate lunch break. Takeru, hearing the bell which observed the end of lunch, was mightily displeased, "Oh man…there I thought I can at least eat some of your delicious lunch box, but I guess not…"  
Although happy hearing compliment for her cooking, Hikari could not help but tell him that it was his own fault he had to starve. But being the soft-hearted and kind person she was, she felt sorry even though she rebuked him. As soon as they took their seats next to each other she promised to give him a bigger share of the dinner tonight. This elated the bespectacled blonde, and in the next instant he began daydreaming about the oncoming feast.  
"You're only spoiling him, Hikari-chan," voiced a slightly irked Matsuda Sakuya, who turned around and joined the duo's conversation, thinking it more befitting that Takeru should be punished for ditching the two during lunch.  
"Would you like to have a bigger share too, Sakuya-chan?" Hikari, being impartial, mistook her friend's comment as complaint.  
"No, that's not what I meant-" Sakuya was going to say more, but she was cut off by the calculus teacher coming in. She thus decidedly dropped the matter and again faced the front.

As the lesson went on, time passed painstakingly slow. A good portion of the class zoned out or fell into the sleeping abyss ten minutes into the lecture on differentiations. Sakuya, although trying very hard not to, was also beginning to dive into the trance with which every student was only too familiar. Takeru too, was hardly paying attention to the lecturer. Not so much that he felt sleepy, but rather he could not but help, given his empty stomach, imagine about food. About the only person paying attention to Ms. Katsura's lecture was Yagami Hikari, who always stayed attentive during each class. Not born exceptionally bright, she mended the disadvantage through diligence. Plus, seeing that both Takeru and Sakuya's minds were now in other universes, she knew that they would be begging her for the notes and guidance later tonight. Knowing that she was their only hope, the brunette followed the lecture closely and took detailed notes.

But the peaceful afternoon was however, disturbed. Appearing out of nowhere, a powerful wave of magical pressure swept across the sleepy classroom, with force like waves of the raging ocean smashing into the rocky shores. Of course, no one but those with attachments to the magical world took notice of this. As soon as the force hit, Takeru and Sakuya's heads simultaneously perked up to look to the window, action which the calculus teacher Katsura Hinagiku found quite amusing.

"Matsuda, Takaishi, welcome back to the class, if you're wondering where we are it's page sixty-seven," she commented offhandedly, and returned to the example problem she was previously solving on the chalkboard. It warranted some amused laughter from the class. Well, only from those who were still awake.

Having chuckled nervously at his teacher's offside comment, Takeru tapped at Sakuya's shoulder and implored her silently, mouthing a 'What was that?' statement. Sakuya was about to answer, but a voice from the front of the class interrupted her. "Takaishi? Matsuda? Is something wrong?" Ms. Katsura, with her long pink hair, adjusted her silver pair of glasses, looking displeased at the disruption of her lecture.

"Attention, will Takaishi Takeru and Matsuda Sakuya please report to the principal's office immediately? I repeat, Takaishi Takeru and Matsuda Sakuya, please report to the principal's office." The announcement rang through the whole school, voiced by none other than Kiromachi High's principal himself.

Seeing, or rather hearing that her students had been summoned, Katsura-sensei could not help but drop her previous inquiry, "Again, Matsuda? And now Takaishi as well? Whatever, to the principal's office you go then." She sighed and motioned them out the classroom door.

As soon as she dismissed them, Takeru and Sakuya quickly exited the now attentive room. The announcement, after all, was quite loud, and its resounding effect awoke countless dreaming teens within the school's proximity. It was to Takeru's class' fortune, though, since Katsura-sensei seized the opportunity to announce to the class that all the materials hereto were going to be included in the pop quiz next week. Her statement caused a wave of frantic movements as students raced to copy down what's on the board. But, even though pop quiz was important, it was the least of Takeru and Sakuya's concern now, as the Matsuda Fujitaka now expected them. They dashed with all their might toward the principal's office on the third floor. "Sakuya…what _was_ that?" While running, Takeru could not help but inquire his ebony-haired friend.

"I'll explain later, for now we have to hurry!" Sakuya answered, and in no time the two arrived at the oaken double door of the principal's office. Sakuya abruptly pushed it open and the two walked inside.  
"Sakuya-san, Takeru-kun, thank you for coming by," Inside the room, principal Matsuda Fujitaka sat calmly on his big, comfy leather chair behind the large wooden desk.  
"Tou-chan…what's the situation?" asked the daughter of the said principal.  
As the olive-haired principal slowly rose from his seat, his vision moved from the two young magicians to the window, looking to the nice afternoon outside. "There were some magical disturbances a few minutes ago, of which I'm sure you both felt, around the northern perimeter of Kiromachi in the forest. Now, normally I would send Joe-kun, but he had just stepped out an hour before to investigate something for me, so he isn't here presently. Sakuya-san, I trust you know what to do?"  
"Yes, Tou-chan."

"Now, we haven't much time before "it" materializes, so I won't hinder you two any longer. Sakuya-san, brief Takeru about "it" on your way," Fujitaka said, seeing Takeru was staring at him with a confused look.  
"Okay, Tou-chan. Ready for teleportation anytime."

"Not so fast. This time, why don't you two fly there? Takeru-kun, can your flight spell sustain two people?"  
"It should be able to, but wouldn't teleportation be more effective?"  
"There won't be time for you to prepare for what you are about to face if I teleport you two right to the spot, wouldn't there. Takeru-kun, you may commence."  
"Er…Yes sir!" Dispelling any doubts, Takeru took out the blue charm dangling under his school uniform. He chanted the staff releasing spell and was once again consumed in radiant, pure white light. And when the light finally faded few seconds later Takeru was in his magical outfit, holding his long staff. "**Seraphim's wings**, carrier form!" he summoned his flight spell and two pairs of golden wings appeared at his two ankles, except instead of being small like last time, it grew to be about many times greater, as if imitating a real angel's wings. "Let's go, Sakuya!" With his spell in place he turned to Sakuya, and quickly picked her up, with his left hand holding the back of her and the right supporting her back, before she could protest. "Hold on tight!" he warned.

"Wait a minute, Takeru-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!" And before she could secure her arms around his neck he had already leaped through the window that Fujitatka opened for them.  
"Ahaha, it certainly is good to be young…" Matsuda Fujitaka muttered to himself with a gentle smile as he sees their disappearing figures in the sky.

The two flew in the sky above, well above the eyeshot of the normal persons. It was quite cloudy that day, but Takeru nonetheless activated his cloak spell, not comfortable with taking the chance of being seen. At first Sakuya, cradled in Takeru's arms, glowed with scarlet of embarrassment as the two traveled on to their destination. But it soon abated as her mind shifted to their target.

"Sakuya, can you tell me more about the "it"?" Takeru asked, seeing that his mage friend wasn't taking the initiative to tell him about their mission. His inquiry knocked her out of her reverie.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Well…the "it" Tou-chan refered to is demon. They're said to be beings from another dimension," Sakuya started. "According to legend the heaven, earth, and underworld were once one. Gods, men, and demons resided with one another peacefully. But the harmony was broken when the ambitious demons assaulted the territories of men, and it begot a full scale war between the demon tribe and the human tribe.  
"As the war reached its climax, the gods intervened to try quelling the chaos, but strife between men and demons had become too deep. Seeing that peace among the three tribes cannot be achieved through ordinary means, the gods, along with those men and demons who wished for peace, made an attempt to alleviate the situation. What they came up with was the division of the three worlds, among the gods, men, and demons, and thus heaven, earth, and hell were begot.  
"Thus, of course, with the three worlds was divided, the war ended. However, the situation was far from perfect. Even though barriers set up by those peacekeepers were too powerful for anyone to break, they still had weak points. Those weak points are thus called "gates", and throughout the last few millennia these had all been reinforced by more powerful sealing magic, and these gateways that lead to the other dimensions were mostly eliminated to ensure safety of each realm from the others. What remained was the original casting site, which centuries ago men and gods decide to leave alone, for hope of the future unity among the three worlds. That site was the region Byakuya, or now renamed known as Kiromachi, the Crossroad Town. Befitting, isn't it?"

Takeru was amazed by the history of this world, and kept silent as Sakuya continued.

"Now, while it may have been left alone through good will, but it also meant one final connection between heaven, earth, and hell still exist, and that site is right here, where we live. Which means demons could easily infiltrate the barrier via Kiromachi and ascend to the earth. That's where we, the Kinomoto Clan, come in. We of the Matsuda family are the scion and last of the line of those original peacekeepers thousands of years ago, while others of our kind became ignorant and slowly forgot about the division of the three worlds as they live about their merry lives.

"The Kinomoto Clan, in essence, comprised of five families, well now only three are left. The Kinomotos, the Lis, the Yanagis, the Sakurais, and us, the Matsudas, made up of the Clan. Kinomotos and Lis had long since died out or left, leaving only the remaining three families. We of the Matsudas are the current head of the Clan, and operate in the shadows of the non-magical society, keeping duty and watching for any threats to this world."

"Wow…this is incredible. So the Matsuda family acts as the guardian of the gate between heaven, earth, and hell?" Takeru asked.

"That's the idea, anyways. Although no one is sure how much of the legend were actually facts. It might have just been an embellished story, but the threats from another dimension are real, however. Though, to infiltrate the Gate is no easy task. According to reports of an incident half a millennium ago, a powerful dragon demon had crossed the gate. The records said that it lost all its power, shifted its appearance into that of a human child, and did not regain its full strength until months later. Thus, crossing the gate almost guarantees death for those who dare attempt it. So it therefore ensures no common demon from entering our world, and even if occasionally a strong demon land in Kiromachi, the barriers that it came through would have severely weakened its strength so much that it would be too weak to do much damage and we guardians would be able to eliminate it with ease."

As she explains, however, a question formulated in Takeru's mind, "Sakuya…if the Matsuda family had been guardians of Kiromachi fine until now, then what is my purpose of being here? Isn't it redundant to seek help from a trainee mage like me?"  
"Unfortunately, Takeru, I don't know. But it must have been because of the recent increase in demon activity around here."  
"Increase?"

"Yeah…there had been a dramatic increase in the amount of demons that traveled through the Gate in the past year, and they're becoming more and more difficult to handle. That must have been why you were sent to help."

"But…why me of all people? Surely there are better candidates than I to address such a problem?"  
"Well…" Sakuya was about to say something, but stopped and looked down. "Let's save that for later, Takeru-kun. It seems that we have arrived." As the two held the conversation they have passed the downtown to the northern parts, and finally into a bald spot within the trees densely populated this region.  
Takeru immediately recognized the magical pressure he felt in class, as it was thick in the surrounding air. He eyed around and saw a bright circle of light that lay in the open region surrounded by the forest. It was vaguely familiar, something he had once seen Mogusaki do as homework, "That's…a summoning circle?"  
"You recognize that?"  
"Yeah…Although I don't recognize this particular pattern but, every kind of summons is differently drawn but always containing a pentagram as the base. Why would it be here?"

"I don't know, but something is coming out! Look!" Sakuya pointed.  
True enough, a large, shadowy figure began to materialize within the circle. It stood about ten feet tall, and covered readily the whole region within the woodland.

"That's…a class A Tabeyume (Dream Eater)!" Sakuya said.  
"There are different classes?"  
"Yeah…we divide the demons into three classes, with grade C, B, or A. The first class is the Tabeyume, which is considerably weak, lacks intelligence, and are usually large in size. The second is Tabeshini (Death Eater), which holds ten times more power than a Tabeyume but also is also quite unintelligent. Last but not least is the Tabetama (Soul Eater), these are not only much more powerful than the other two classes, but they also have human intelligence. It was said that they also take the appearance of humans, as in the case of the dragon from five hundred years ago. Tabetama are, of course, the hardest to exorcise."  
"Well, if this is one of the lower class, then it shouldn't be too hard to defeat, right?" Based on her explanation, Takeru reached a conclusion. He landed just outside of the magic circle's boundary and placed Sakuya down.  
"Not exactly. Recently these demon's power had been increased…even a Tabeyume will give you quite a challenge now," Sakuya stated.  
"Well, then we should get started!" Takeru said as he aimed Raging Gale directly at the materializing demon. "Altrasaz le Maestra! Goddess of everlasting light who laments the suffering, be reborn onto this dark earth into being, and bestow thy infinite might upon me. Divine ray which dispels the darkness, descend from the high heavens, and bring forth celestial illumination!" As he chanted hundreds of particles of light materialized and converged in front of the blonde mage. When the charging was complete Takeru jabbed his staff forward, "**Divine Buster!**" The fired spell rushed toward the demon at high speed. But contrary to the expected result, the spell seemed to be, absorbed and nullified. There appeared to be a protective coating surrounding the beast, dispelling his magical attack.

"Eh? What's going on?" Takeru asked, surprised.  
"That's weird…that's never happened before…" Sakuya was equally surprised at the turn of event. "That's not good. White Tiger of the West, answer my summon. Thy seven celestial stars, Kei Rou I Bou Hi Shi Shin [奎婁胃昂畢觜參], descend, and become my thunder of judgment!" A lightning charm appeared in front of Sakuya, and she shot her index finger forward at the lightning charm. "Reidou no Jyuu, **Haten****-**" as she was about to complete her spell, however, the magic summoning circle's light suddenly brightened, radiating outward light and magical pressure so intense that both Takeru and Sakuya were stunned and forced to take a few step back. Before the two teens now stood a fully materialized class A Tabeyume, roaring in celebration of its birth into this world. Its form was hideous beyond compare, and its surface seemed to be coated with gooey filth, almost as if its skin were melting. If one must define its appearance with something of this world, it probably looked more like a rhinoceros. But the relation would be doing the animal a very big injustice.

"Oh no…we lost the chance of settling this quickly!" Sakuya said, and turned to Takeru. "We have to take this thing down before it reaches town, ready, Takeru-kun?"  
"Of course, Sakuya!" Takeru replied confidently, and then held his staff up and began to chant. His own magic circle appeared beneath his feet and moments later the air around them began to thicken with concentrated magical elementals. He had erected a force field, to shroud from those without magic their existence. The battle against his first demon thus commenced.

"**Seraphim's Wings**, battle form!" Takeru's flight spell shrank into their petit state as Takeru took to the air. "Altrasaz le Maestra! Hear me, fifty spirits of blinding light! **Magic Shooter, Fifty Arrows of Light!**" Fifty orbs of light surrounded Takeru and raced at the demon. But like his Divine Buster previously as soon as it came in contact with the beast the attacks were neutralized by an unidentified force. "What? Why isn't my spells connecting?" Takeru wondered aloud. The demon, seeing its enemy's spell was merely pretty light works, roared with excitement and charged at Sakuya, who stood aground.  
But Sakuya was at the ready, and wasted no time shooting a Sky-Shattering Thunder at her charging adversary. Her spell contacted and knocked it far back into the surrounding trees, disabling it. Having a successful experiment, she suggested a different tactic to Takeru, "Takeru-kun! Try an element other than light!"  
Takeru, confidence wavered a bit by the null of his spells, began to chant again. "**Magic Shooter, Seventeen Arrows of Lightning!**" This time seventeen rays of thunder raced toward the demon and connected, further injuring and confusing the demon.

"Light immunity…I see! But why would a demon have light immunity?" Takeru pondered.  
"Takeru-kun! _Watch out!_" Sakuya shouted. While Takeru was preoccupied with the demon's latent ability it had again gained footing and gathered energy at its mouth. As soon as it was ready the large and hideous beast released the bombardment attack toward its airborne prey. Takeru managed to dodge the ray, but was grazed at the cheek. Blood poured out from the wound, but that was the least of his concern, because the demon now proceeded to barrage him with multiple energy rays. He held his hand out and produced the round shield defense spell, and concentrating at keeping up his defense against the barrage.  
Sakuya, on the other hand, seized this as an opportunity. She started to chant again. "Black Tortoise of the North, answer my summon. Thy seven celestial stars, To Gyuu Jyo Kyo Ki Shi Heki [斗牛女虛危室壁], descend, and become my glacier of destruction!" Yet another charm appeared before Sakuya, but instead it's blue with the Chinese character, Hyou, in the middle. She then continued, "Reidou no nijyuuroku, **Genhyouhitsugi [**霊道の二十六, 玄氷棺**] **(Spiritual Art Number Twenty-six, Obsidian Ice Coffin)!" She finished her spell, and a wave of sub-zero wind began circulating the demon, formulating six heavy walls of ice on all its sides. The blocks then convened quickly, and locked the demon within its hellish interior of artic temperature. Poundings could be heard as the demon bashed against the walls of the coffin, but as moments passed by it became irregular and slower. Takeru, lowering his defense since the demon's barrage had been stopped, could only imagine what frosty environ it suffered within the coffin's walls. Sakuya, on the other hand, seized this chance and switched to the thunder charm again, "Reidou no Rokujyuunana, **Goraikou [**霊道の六十七, 五雷降**] **(Spiritual Art Number Sixty-seven, Five-Rayed Thunder Descent!" Having declared her spell, clouds mysteriously gathered in the heavens, and five rays of lightning came from the sky above to devour the immobilized demon in its destructive light. The bolts pierced through the icy exterior, and proceeded to bounce within the icebox. The result was the concentration of the thunder damage done to the already weakened beast. The ice coffin finally shattered under the immense energy produced, and revealed the demon charred to complete cinder. As soon as the beast's remains contacted with the ground it burst into ashy residue.

Having witness the succession of powerful spells, Takeru could not but feel awe for Sakuya, "That was awesome, Sakuya! You took out the demon with ease!"  
But Sakuya shook her head, "That was way too much effort need for a Tabeyume. I can't believe I had to resort to a level sixty Reidou to finish it," she sighed. Something shiny lying among the demon's ashes then piqued her interest. The olive-haired mage cautiously approached it and retrieved it, carefully examining it in the now setting sun. Then she yelped in surprised. "What's wrong, Sakuya-chan?" asked Takeru, who landed next to Sakuya's side.

"But…it can't be! This is the Orb of Light!" she exclaimed. She handed the orb, no larger than the size of a baseball, to Takeru, who also examined it.  
"Orb of Light?" Takeru stared blankly at the artifact, wondering where he might have seen it before. Indeed, the more he stared at it, the more familiar to the eye the translucent orb seemed to become.  
Sakuya though, blindly ignored his inquiry, "We have to go to Tou-chan right away. Come on, Takeru-kun, let's-" she started to walk off, but her head began to spin the moment she took her step. Then, losing consciousness and control of her body without warning, she collapsed onto the soft grass underneath.

"Sakuya! Are you all right?" Takeru rushed to her side and shook the unconscious Sakuya gently, but it produced no result. She was, for whatever reason, now completely out cold. Takeru positioned his finger near Sakuya's nose and sighed with relieve as life still breathed within her. Apparently she had only gone over her limit of magical power, and thus lost consciousness. Takeru briefly remember the eastern mage telling him that eastern-style magic consumed much more spiritual energy compared to western magic. After all, unlike the Guardian-style magic Takeru was used to, where the castors extracted spiritual energy from the surroundings by using their own mana as catalyst, practitioners of eastern magic converted their own mana into the element of their designation. Takeru knelt down and gently picked her up into his arms. And, having placed the light orb into his pocket and securely held on to the unconscious Japanese girl, Takeru, with one blow of gale produced by the flapping of his now again enlarged flight spell, flew towards the setting sun back to the Crossroad Town.


	10. Blessings of the Seven Saints

Two days had passed since Takeru's first encountering of the oversized Tabeyume. On that afternoon he and Sakuya reported the details back to Kiromachi High's principal. The outcome of the battle was as well surprising to the raven-haired, lightly-mustached principal. It was all quiet in the said principal's office today, as it is a Saturday afternoon. The setting sun's rays raced through the windows, topping the room's furnishing an orange hue. Matsuda Fujitaka alone sat comfortably in his leather chair, his elbow rested on the large, wooden desk while his crossed fingers supported his head. Deep in thoughts, he casually glanced at the translucent, pure white orb no larger than the size of his palm. In front of him it lay still on the desk, reflecting the afternoon sun off its smooth, clear surface.

The opening of the oaken double door disturbed the silence. Silver-haired Joe Weatherforth came through from the hallway with a folder filled with pieces of paper. "Welcome back, Joe-kun. I see you are early as usual." the school principal greeted the returned English teacher.

"It's good to be back, sensei," returned Joe. "Here are the records of dimensional crossings the British Dimensional Gate Guardians submitted to the Magical Central Authority as you requested, filed in chronological order."  
"As efficient as ever, I appreciate your effectiveness. I trust obtaining this wasn't too difficult?"  
"It took some time and authorization to get to it, but there was not too much trouble," Joe reported. He placed the files down onto the wooden desk, directly in front of his magical instructor.

And with that, Fujitaka fell silent as he opened the folder, retrieving and perusing the contents within. Meanwhile Joe stood in front of the desk, awaited in idle silence. Few pieces of parchments were inside the file, each with the identifications of individuals who utilized the dimensional gateway within the last few decades filed to the Magical Central Authority (the largest mage organization in this world, it oversees all magical affairs). After a brief moment had passed, Fujitaka lowered the papers, "As I expected…no suspicious individuals or those who were blacklisted that came through from Guardia…"  
"Sensei, is that significant? I mean, isn't it good that no suspicious characters came to Terra?" Joe asked.

"While that would generally pertain to that, I still have my doubts. After all, how else can you explain the summoning circle witnessed by Takeru-kun?"

Joe could offer no answer to Fujitaka's inquiry, "Sensei…does that mean the Byakuya Gate's seal is weakening? But that's not possible, you said yourself that the Kinomoto's sacrificial rite five hundred years ago was so powerful that it was to be final and eternal."

Fujitaka sighed heavily, "While I believe in my forefather's ability, we simply couldn't ignore that possibility. I'm afraid to say that unavoidable calamity shall strike here in the near future, and all we can hope for is that fate will be with us. Joe-kun, I'm sorry since you had just returned, but I have another task for you."  
"Let me guess, sensei, you want me to find traces of the culprit?"  
"Yes and no. Firstly I want you to go to Guardia with Hsiro-kun for the time being and dig up all you can about the Blessings of the Seven Saints."  
Joe Weatherforth was surprised at the mentioning of something that wasn't at all tangible to their current dealings, "The ancient elemental regalia, but why? What do they have to do with anything?"  
Seeing that Joe was befuddled at the development, he picked up the previously ignored Orb of Light and handed it to him, "Take a look at this."  
Joe received the orb from the middle-aged principal and carefully examined it. He then looked at his master with incredulous eyes, "But it can't be…this is Avalon's Light!"  
Fujitaka sighed heavily, "So I was right…"  
"But…this had been lost along with the other six for well over a few centuries! Why would it appear here?"  
"That is what I would like you to investigate, Joe-kun. I know this request is unreasonable, and perhaps impossible, but it is really important that we know more about these regalia."  
"I, understand, sensei. I shall depart tonight then," Joe said. "and if I may add, sensei, shouldn't we inform the Matsuda main family about this turn of event? While I know Sakuya-kun had cut all ties with them, don't you think they should at least be contacted?"  
Fujitaka stared at Joe for a while, and then smiled, "I believe they have already caught wind of this and will be contacting _us_ soon, so don't worry about it. My little brother is no fool, after all."  
"Understood, sensei. And another thing, what should we do with this?" Joe was referring to the Orb of Light he was holding.

"If you may, will you leave it in the care of Sakuya-san and Takeru-kun?"  
"But…are you sure it is wise for her to be near it?"  
Fujitaka pondered for a minute, and then responded. "Nothing is for certain, Joe-kun. But, I believe that is where Avalon's Light will be the safest."  
"I see, then I shall trust your judgment, sensei. I will take my leave." Joe bowed respectfully and left the room.  
After Joe departed, Fujitaka again sighed heavily, with much mixed feelings. _There are many things still untold but…I believe it is for the best course of action for the time being,_ he consoled himself.

Back at the Yagami Inn, the blonde western mage stood in front the inn's iron-gated entrance, idly staring off at the sleepy town of Kiromachi below the hill. Takeru was quite disturbed at how such a peaceful town could have such a huge problem lurking in its shadow. _A g__ate to the demon world huh…it's still hard to believe, even by my standards,_ Takeru thought. Even so, he began to understand the importance of his assignment, and with Sakuya's help he wishes to protect this land with his own hands.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it? The afternoon sun covers everything in such sad, lonely colors," a voice came from behind him, making Takeru turn his head. It belonged to Yagami Hikari the manager. "It gives off such sorrowful, gentle beauty. But I still like dawn sceneries better. That's when everything gains vibrancy in their colorings." She smiled at Takeru as she closed the gap between the two, and proceeded to stand next to him, side by side. Takeru's glance shifted from her back to the scenery of the Crossroad Town. "Hikari…this town…do you like it?" Takeru asked suddenly.  
Hikari turned her head to look at him, a bit bewildered at his sudden questioning. "Do I like this town? Why Takeru-kun, you should know without asking. Of course, I love this town!"  
Hearing her response, Takeru also smiled, and stretched out his right hand toward the town, and closing it into a fist as if swearing an oath, "Then I shall protect it, along with everyone, no matter what!" Having affirmed his new found determination, Takeru seated himself down on the stone steps and continued to embrace the beautiful scenery. Hikari was confused by his comments, but too followed suit and sat down. There they sat for a long while, both deep in thoughts but still enjoying each other's company, until the sun's last rays with finality of the day disappeared into the horizon.  
"Hikari, let's go back. I'm getting hungry," Takeru said while getting up and dusted his pants.

"It's a wonder how much you can eat, Takeru-kun. Never before did I have anyone that enjoys my cooking so much."

"You'd be surprised how lacking English cuisine can be, so every day your food is like a gourmet meal to me," he commented, praising his chef.

"Ahaha, after such sweet words I really have to make something for you then," and with that she also brought herself onto her feet. But she had risen too fast, and became faint, resulting in her losing balance and began to fall forward.

"_Watch out!_" Takeru cried as he reached for her right arm and pulled her toward him. The action caused her to spin around toward Takeru's direction and fall into him instead, which caused him to lose balance as well and fall backward. With a loud thud, the pair of them landed on the concrete ground, with Hikari on top, her face buried into Takeru's chest while he cradled her in his arms. A few seconds passed before Hikari regain control of her own body. She lifted her head and faced Takeru apologetically, "Ah…sorry Takeru-kun…I'm clumsy as ever, ehehe."  
"No…it's not your fault. You're not hurt are you?" Takeru asked with a worrisome face.

"Nope…just sudden blood rush to the brain since we've been sitting for too long."

"That's good, we can't afford for you to be hurt now, can we?"  
"Ah…so you mean you wouldn't have saved me if I wasn't your ticket to dinner?" she pouted, pretending to be angry at his remark.  
Takeru fell for it nonetheless, "No…of course not!" he quickly answered, thinking he had offended her again.

"Ahaha…Takeru-kun you fall for it every time!" she said, playfully sticking out her tongue to jest the young man.  
Takeru was stunned silent, both by the teasing and by the innocent, lovely smile that was at the moment just a few inches from his own face. Takeru could not help but study the young innkeeper's smooth, lightly-redden cheeks and the strands of pale, sepia-colored long hair that hung about the two mesmerizing scarlet eyes which stared deep into his own blue ones. Beholding her slender figure within his arms, he truly, for the first time, noticed just how beautiful the girl on top of him was. His heart palpitated faster and faster as they lay on the ground with her in his embrace. But as much as he was entranced by Hikari, and as much he wished this moment to last forever, he soon became aware at just how awkward their positioning was, and how easily misunderstood anyone would be if he or she saw them. He prayed that no one would.

"_Yo!_ Good evening you two lovebirds." But, it was just his damn bad luck that someone intruded in their moment. The voiced belonged to Joe Weatherforth, who was ascending the stone stairway. He wasn't wearing his usual grey suit, but rather a black sweater, coupled with black long trousers and a white, heavy traveling coat. His left hand rested in his coat pocket while on the right hand he held a traveling bag. Hearing the sarcastic comment, the two instantly jumped up away from each other and were on their feet in the matter of seconds. Both Hikari and Takeru's cheeks glowed as red as the previous sunset with embarrassment, and their eyes strayed away from each other, avoiding direct contact.  
"Ahaha! Takeru-kun, working your magic with women as usual, are ya?" Takeru's older friend teased.  
This made both of them glow even brighter. "Joe-san, it's not like that at all!" Takeru replied franticly.

"He's right, Weatherforth-sensei. I just lost balance on the stairs and Takeru-kun prevented me from falling, so we ended up like that…" Hikari started explained, her voice reduced gradually to a level barely audible.

"Is that so? That's no fun. There I thought a new couple had been born," Joe sighed, sounding mightily disappointed.

"So what brings you here at this hour, Joe-san?" Takeru asked quickly, wishing to shift the topic.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea, sensei?" offered the polite young manager, studious of her role to make visitors as comfortable as possible.

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I'm just here to tell you that I'm going on a business trip, to England, in fact." Joe answered.

"England? Then you're going to Gua-" Takeru began to asked, but quickly restrained himself, remembering Hikari was right next to him.

"That's the plan, anyways," Joe said, understanding his intended question. "Fujitaka-sensei's given me quite a weighty task this time."  
"For how long will you be gone, sensei?" Hikari asked.

"Depends, but at least a month for sure."

Takeru and Hikari didn't ask any more after that. Even though Takeru did have many questions to ask Joe, he couldn't risk it in front of the innkeeper. Seeing that the two fell silent, Joe knew that it was time to leave. He then took out his left hand from his pocket. Within its grasp was the translucent white magical orb Avalon's Light. "Here, Takeru. Fujitaka-sensei told me to leave this in your and Matsuda-kun's care," the silver-haired English teacher said, stretching out his hand for Takeru to take it.  
As confused as Takeru was as to why the principal decided to place the Orb of Light in his care, he took it without words.

"Well, it's getting late. I best be going now then. Give my regards to Matsuda-kun and the rest of the tenants, Yagami-san," Joe turned around and started down the stairs.

"Have a safe trip, Weatherforth-sensei!" Hikari said, bowing at their English teacher.

"Take care, you two," Joe said lastly, waving his free hand while not looking back, and disappeared into the street below the hill.

"I wonder why Weatherforth-sensei is going to England all of the sudden?" Hikari asked while the two turned around to back into the inn.

"Well…it's probably a business trip? He did say Principal Matsuda gave him tons work." Takeru replied hastily.

"Hmm…I see," she stopped her inquiring, remembering that it is not her business to pry. "By the way, what's that thing he gave you?"  
"Ah…this? I dunno…probably a birthday present for Sakuya?" Takeru lied.

"But…it's only January…Sakuya-chan's birthday's not until October…" Hikari leered Takeru. "Are you hiding something from me, Takeru-kun?" she inquired.

"Ah…well…um…I really don't know?" Takeru again lied unconvincingly.  
Hikari sighed and gave up, and took the orb from his hand, holding it up to the light of the inn, which made it…sparkle with radiance?

"Whatever it is, it sure is pretty!" She then gave it back to Takeru. As soon as the sphere left the light source, it lost its luster. "Well, we don't want you to lose it now, do we?" she said with a smile.  
Takeru then stuffed the relic into his pocket, "Probably not…" he said. _Was that a trick to the eyes by the inn's light?_ Takeru pondered. For a split second he thought that Avalon's Light reacted to Hikari's touch, but he quickly passed it as simple imagination, since for the whole time he had known her she never once exhibited any signs of magical talent.

The two made their way into the kitchen. Hikari, outfitted with an apron, headed to the refrigerator to retrieve necessary ingredients. Takeru folded his arms and leaned against the kitchen wall, his eyes followed her every movement, not allowing her to leave his sight. Hikari must have noticed him, though, since as she was finishing chopping up the carrots and throwing them into a wok on the stove, she turned around to face Takeru. "Is something the matter, Takeru-kun?" she asked.

"No, of course not! I'm just anxious to eat your cooking, that's all," Takeru replied.  
"Well, hold your horses! It will be ready soon," she giggled. "Can you go call Sakuya-chan for dinner in the meantime, Takeru-kun?"  
"Why, of course," with that said Takeru turned to walk out of the kitchen. He headed toward Sakuya's room's direction. The usually lively hallway was now unusually quiet. The Takehara siblings were out visiting the orphanage in which they used to live. Furude Fumiko was busily at work in the university. Even the usually at home Shiratori Ryushi was, tonight, meeting with his publisher about his new book. The only ones at home are Takeru, Hikari, and Sakuya. Sakuya had been doing some intense research on the certain magical artifact that they acquired from their last battle, and locked herself in her room ever since, not leaving except out of necessities. Takeru halted his steps when he arrived in front of Room Four, and knocked on the door. No response. He knocked again, but still no response from the inside. _That's weird…_Takeru thought to himself, and reached for the door knob, and turned it. The door was unlocked, and it swung on its hinge, revealing Sakuya's room. _How careless…not locking the door._ Takeru thought, and entered.

The room was dark and cool, with all curtains closed. Books and scrolls were littered everywhere. Knowing what she had been doing, Takeru gently closed the door and traversed skillfully through the messy room to reach Sakuya, who sat in front of a still glowing laptop screen resting peacefully with her head in her arms. As Takeru closed in, the content on the screen became readable. On it were articles written by scholars on the Blessings of the Seven Saints: Avalon's Light, Firaya's Ember, Ivaldi's Spark, Elric's Dew, Arya's Zephyr, Gaia's Stone, and Kyrios' Shadow. Takeru was amazed at how much Sakuya was able to dig up in just two days, and was reluctant to wake her up since she had been working so hard. But it seems that his snaking around the room had caused too much ruckus, because when he arrived right next to her, she slowly lifted her head, looking with those drowsy, tired eyes right at him. "Morning…Takeru-kun," she yawned.

"It's still nighttime, Sakuya. How long have you been up?" Takeru asked.

"I don't know…I'm not even sure when I fell asleep…"  
"Doing research is one thing…but Hikari will have your head if she saw how tired you are, you know?" Seeing that Sakuya is okay, Takeru set his sight on the mess of the room, and began picking up books and scrolls that were lying on the floor. Sakuya gradually got up and followed suit, and within half an hour the mess was organized and returned to the secret compartment hidden behind a poster of a famous male movie star.  
"Nice hiding place, Sakuya." Takeru said with an impressed smile.

"Yeah, I just hope Hikari-chan won't be mad that I drilled a hole into her wall…" Sakuya said with some fearful concern.

"Ah…speaking of Hikari…we're supposed to be downstairs for dinner like a while ago…" Takeru said, remembering the purpose for his visiting Sakuya's room in the first place.

"Really? Then let's go. I'm starving!" With that said she hurriedly went out the door. Takeru shook his head, chuckled, and followed her, remembering to close the door behind him. As the two mages approached the kitchen waves of delicious aroma enveloped them. Sakuya had stayed in her room practically the whole day, and because of that her stomach began to growl loudly. Embarrassed by her bodily reaction to food, Sakuya glowed with pale red while Takeru laughed at her as they moved into the room. Three dishes lay on top of the table, as well as three sets of dining utensils and three bowls of rice. When the two entered, Hikari was just beginning to come out from under the table.

"Hikari…why are you under the table?" Takeru asked, puzzled at Hikari's intentions.

"Well…I was waiting for you guys to come…but out of nowhere there came this earth-shaking noise, so I thought there was an earthquake," she said, with a terrified outlook that was clearly an act. Takeru could not help but broke into laughter again.

"You're terrible…Hikari-chan…" Sakuya protested, her face even redder than before.

"Alright, enough joking around, let's eat!" Hikari said with a big smile and sat down. Sakuya and Takeru did so as well, and soon after all the plates were emptied. Hikari and Takeru gathered up the dishes to wash while Sakuya went back to her room to catch up on some sleep.

"Sakuya-chan seemed really tired," Hikari commented while she placed the dishes into the sink. "Takeru-kun, thanks for your help, but I can do this much dishes by myself."  
"Really…well then I guess I'll head back to my room then. Good night, Hikari." Takeru said.

"Mmm…good night, Takeru-kun."

Takeru left the kitchen and headed for his own room. But when he passed by the door of Sakuya's room he stopped short to knock on the door. Steps can be heard approaching the door, and soon it opened, revealing a drowsy Sakuya, who now wore a white sleeping robe.

"What's up…Takeru-kun?" Sakuya asked, and yawned.

"Sorry to disturb your sleep, Sakuya. But can I borrow your laptop?"  
"Eh…my laptop? Go right ahead, and close the door behind you when you leave please," with that said Sakuya stumbled back to her bed, pulled up her blanket, and was sound asleep in no time. Takeru then walked to her desk, picked up his item desired, and left the sleepy chamber. When he returned to his own room, he placed it on his table and turned it on. The system was on standby, so the article that Takeru saw while back at Sakuya's room was still there. Takeru then sat down, and started to read the article.

…_the Blessings of the Seven Saints are relics passed down by the seven legendary heroes that fought alongside the Goddess of Dawn Micaiah against the God of Destruction Malpercio approximately a millennium ago. The seven heroes are __Altin__a Avalon of Light, __Zest __Firaya of Fire, Artorius Ivaldi of Thunder, __Chrono Elric__ of Water, Winston Arya of Wind, __Hohenheim Gaia__ of Earth, and Pelleas Kyrios of Darknes__s__.__ These heroes were granted divine powers of the seven elemental spirits to combat the Malpercio's army of Demons…_

It's a commentary of the book _History of the Two Guardias_, which Takeru was most familiar with, given more than half a year ago a section of his graduation exam was devoted to its contents. Tired of reading history of the founding of Guardia that still daunted him in his sleep, Takeru scrolled down a few more pages before stopping.

…_Seven Saints' re__galia__ take the shape__s__ of round orbs.__ Their powers are absolute control over each of the seven elements that makes up the world which we live in: light, darkness, fire, water, earth, thunder, and wind.__ Whoever possesses the orb will be granted immunity to whichever element the orb was designated, as well as heighten ability to command the spirits of that element…_

No wonder that demon had light immunity…Takeru thought, and scrolled down to the last page.

…_last known resting place of these important relics was the Temple of Heaven, located in the Guardian capital Ostia, next to the palace of the Avalons, ruler of Kingdom of Guardia. __The relics was usually kept behind powerful seals of magic and curses, and would remain there, other than occasional rituals that required them, even then they would be placed under heavy guard by court magicians. __The relics were the symbol of the Avalon dynasty itself, representing its founding and its continual prosperity. __They__ also serve as a reminder of the covenant that the Guardians made to the goddess that they will not stray from their devotion to the Heaven.  
However, the worst happened five hundred years ago, under the reign of King Valerius Avalon. On one stormy night during a ritual offering to the Goddess, an unsuspected thief murdered the praying temple priests and swiped the Blessings of the Seven Saints from the sacred altar. __The thief was confronted by the court mages guarding the altar, but overpowered them and took off without a trace.__ Attempts were made to uncover the mysterious marauder, but had all but been successful.__ To the present, the location__s__ of theses seven sacred relics still remain unknown._

Takeru was especially fixated on the last line of the article. _I__f the relic had been lost over five centuries ago…why would Sakuya recognize it at first glance?_ Takeru was puzzled, unable to even produce a conjecture. He took his eyes off the screen and lay back onto the floor. _Something must have happened in the past for the Eastern mages to know about the Blessings of the Seven Saints,_ he thought. He also thought it strange that she had referred to it as "Orb of Light" instead of Avalon's Light. Many questions entered Takeru's mind, and they made his head spin with dizziness. Thus he shed all the concerns and decided to take a bath. _Let's __use the__ onsen__ for once__…just so I can think more clearly_. He then gathered his bath towel, soap, shampoo, and fresh change of clothes and headed toward the center of the inn, where the spa bath was located. Soon he arrived at the inner courtyard, which was filled with plants and flowers. But the middle portion was walled off by tall stones and lumber boards that created the boundary of the onsen. Takeru walked toward the changing room and headed inside. The changing room was small, with white-tiled floors and a wooden bench in the center. To the right there were cubicle cases where clothes and personal belongings were placed. With many things on his mind, he quickly stripped off his clothes and placed them in an unused cubicle, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then head off toward the entrance of the bath with his shampoo and soap, not taking even slight notice of the small straw basket of female clothing at the foot of the door.

The spa bath is a mixed bath. All guests or tenants are allowed to use it. But there were always a discreet agreement among every tenant as to when the guys and when the girls would use it. Takeru was also briefed about this when he first moved in. But since this was his first time in the spa bath, not to mention he had a lot on his mind, he had completely forgot about this rule. When he opened the door, he headed straight into the spa without even looking around, and dipped his head into the water to try to clear his mind. Takeru stayed submerged for a while, and then arose. He shook the water away from his eyes, and slowly opened them. As his vision focused he for the first time became aware that someone was right in front of him, watching him the whole time since arrival.  
"Ara…Takeru-kun is a pervert!" a familiar, playful voice rang in Takeru's ear. That voice belonged to no other than Yagami Hikari, who now was in front of him, her body well submerged in water so that only her head showed.  
"Yo…Hikari…fancy meeting you here," Takeru greeted her normally, still not registering the situation. But the ignorant bliss did not last for long. A second later he practically jumped three feet into the air and landed back into the water. "_Hi…Hi…Hikari__?_ _What are you doing here__?_" he exclaimed.

"Why else? Bathing of course," she replied calmly, clearly taking pleasure in seeing Takeru freak out.

"_But but but…ahhh! I'm gonna be labeled as pervert for life!"_ As he panicked, Takeru's arms swung up and down at full speed.

"_Takeru-kun! Calm down!_" Hikari loudly ordered. But that didn't work well. It just reminded him that she was there. With no other option, Hikari rose from the water and forcefully clapped his cheeks with two hands. The suddenness and pain brought Takeru back from wherever he was.

"It's okay, Takeru-kun. I have a towel." Hikari said, reassuring him. True enough a towel was wrapped around her bodily curves. But no matter what it was still a treat to the eyes that would make any man's blood rush with excitement.

"This isn't very assuring, Hikari-chan…I'll go and wait until you're done," Takeru said and was about to head back out when Hikari grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"What is it, Takeru-kun? Am I not good enough for you to take a bath with me?" Hikari asked, clearly teasing him but tried to sound hurt.  
But Takeru took the bait like always, "Of course not, Hikari-chan! You're a very beautiful girl, which is more the reason I…" he stopped himself, his mind finally process what had just come out of his mouth. Embarrassed, his cheek glowed bright red.  
Hikari originally speculated that he would probably panic again and run out the door, and that would have been the end. She apparently had not anticipate this response, because she was speechless, quite taken back by his comment. Her cheeks also glowed red. "Th…Thank you, Takeru-kun," she said. "and…please stay. You're already wet anyways, and you might catch a cold. Plus I'd probably take forever in here so..."  
Takeru was raging battle inside. On one hand, this was a godsend opportunity, to bath with a girl. Other than with Nina-san and Mogusaki when she was younger, he had never taken a bath with a woman before, not even with Rika whilst they were going out. But he was also bounded by simple, yet stringent moral conduct. "Thanks, Hikari-chan. It's not your fault or anything, but I just don't think I can handle this. I will see you later," with that he quickly left the premise, leaving a somewhat relieved, yet disappointed Hikari behind.  
Hikari sank back into the water, and began chuckling at the surprising turn of event, "That Takeru-kun…trying to act like a gentleman and everything…how cute." Her face still glowed, however, with joy that a man had just called her beautiful.

Meanwhile, Takeru panted hard in the changing room, still not quite over the whole thing quite yet. _Man…I came here to clear my head…that sure did it…_he thought with his troubled mind. Wanting to avoid awkwardness when Hikari comes out from bath, Takeru decided to just take a shower in the other bathroom. Not even bothering to dry off, he then quickly threw on his dirty clothes and left the changing room. _What a night…_Takeru thought to himself as he headed toward the shower room.


	11. Challenge, a Kendo Showdown

"_Ahahaha_! I can't believe this happened! Takeru-kun, this is got to be the most embarrassing thing I've ever heard!" Sakuya burst out laughing as Hikari refuted last night's event at the breakfast table. The only ones at the table are the three high school students. Takeshi had already left with Minako for school as Minako had a field trip today and needed to be at school early. Shiratori Ryuushi remained asleep in his room at this moment, and Fuurude Fumiko never returned home last night. Thus Hikari felt it fit to share her and Takeru's little misadventure among the light atmosphere of the breakfast table.

"What I cannot believe is that you told her, Hikari!" Takeru, red-faced, complained to his friend the innkeeper.

"Sorry, Takeru, but it's too good of a story to let it die," Yagami Hikari replied.

"But aren't you at least a bit embarrassed by it?" the blonde asked.

"Nope, you're the one that walked in on me, so why should I be embarrassed?" said the cheerful Hikari.  
"This is not how a maiden should behave…" Takeru said, defeated, covering his face with both of his hands, a bit frustrated by the innkeeper's carefree personality.  
"That aside, Takeru-kun, what did you think of Hikari's bouncy assets huh?" Sakuya teased. Hikari's face turned slightly red at the mentioning.  
With that joking comment, something within Takeru's mind finally snapped. His hands forcefully slammed the breakfast table as he stood up abruptly, causing some utensils to jump. Without another word he picked up his school bag and while fuming at what the two girls identified as rage, darted out the kitchen door and out the front entrance, ignoring the two girls' pleas to wait.  
"I think we went a little overboard, Hikari-chan." Sakuya, nervous beads of sweat gleamed on the side of her cheek, turned to Hikari and said.

"It's fun toying with him but, it looks like we really need to apologize to him this time…" said Hikari with a worried face. The two girls then cleaned up the table and also left for school.

For the rest of the morning Takeru avoided Hikari and Sakuya, trying mightily to ignore them as much as possible. No matter how much the two nudged and tried to talk to him he would either turn away or pretend he didn't hear. Even in class, where the three were close together, Takeru paid no heed to them.

"That Takeru-kun…what's with him!" said Sakuya after another failed attempt to recompense for their earlier misbehavior as Takeru simply walked away this time. It is already lunch time and Takeru had stepped out the classroom.

"Let me try alone this time, Sakuya-chan," Hikari suggested. Sakuya heeded and watched her followed the blonde into the crowded hallway.  
It took much effort to find him, but eventually she found him lying on his back, with his eyes closed, under a tree on a small hill behind the school. While she approached him, Takeru must have also heard her coming. Because he opened one eye to identify the approaching figure, and closed it again as soon as he saw who it was.

"Takeru-kun…are you still mad at us?" Hikari asked when she reaches him, and knelt down to his right side.  
Takeru made no reply to her question, and continued to be silent.

"Um…Takeru-kun…I'm sorry about this morning. Seems that Sakuya and I took the joke a bit too far, but we mean no harm," Hikari desperately explained, but again received no remark. This worried her even more, because she felt responsible for his anger. "Takeru-kun…oh what have I done. This kind of thing, I don't want…I…I just…" Tears of anxiousness began to well up her eyes as Takeru still took no heed of her. Yet Takeru still made no response. That was the last straw for Hikari as she began cry, closing her eyes and letting her tears fall onto her lap and Takeru's cheek.  
Feeling the wetness of her tears, Takeru sighed heavily. He slowly sat up, reached into his pocket, pulled out a green handkerchief, and gently wiped at Hikari's tear-streaming face. Feeling Takeru's large, warm hands, Hikari opened her eyes, surprised. "I…couldn't get mad at you even if I want to, Hikari," Takeru sighed again as he wiped away the last of her tears. "It sure was hard to act like I was angry for so long. I was just trying to make a point, though."  
"Takeru…kun…?" Hikari muttered.

"Sorry that I lost my temper, Hikari-chan. I was being a jerk…" he said with an apologetic smile.  
Seeing that Takeru now returned to his normal self, Hikari grinned widely, and closed her arms around his neck with much passion. "I'm sorry too, Takeru-kun…I promise that I won't ever make you mad again!"  
Surprised but not fazed, Takeru also hugged back and ran his hand gently up and down her back to comfort her, "and I promise to never again make you cry."

Sakuya sighed merrily as she saw the two resolved the incident without much trouble. She had trailed Hikari all along, unnoticed by the said girl. The raven-haired girl hid behind the cement wall of the school building closes to the two, observing them. "Looks like I worried for nothing…" she said to herself.  
"But it now has me worried!" said a voice as a figure crept up to Sakuya's right. She turned toward the direction of the voice, and saw that walking up was the senior Kimikura Youhei, who apparently had also tailed Hikari here without Sakuya's notice.

"Kimikura-senpai…what are you doing here?" Sakuya asked as she turned her attention back to Takeru and Hikari, who are now happily chattering. Apparently she was not very amused that he showed up.

"Checking up on my girl as usual, Matsuda. I see that foreign brat had not heed my warning." Kimikura said in an arrogant tone, not happy that Takeru was defying his orders.

"Again, for the umpteenth time…Hikari-chan is not yours, senpai. Give up already!" Sakuya stated forcefully, tired of the brazen senior.  
Kimikura leered at Sakuya, "Sooner or later I will make her mine, whether you like it or not, and neither you nor the transfer student can do anything about it," he arrogantly stated, gave one more look at the now peacefully talking Taker and Hikari, and sneered before heading back toward the building.  
As soon as he disappeared into the school building, Sakuya let out a long sigh. She always had to control herself not to blast Kimikura Youhei with her lightning whenever he appear and talk about her best friend like she was his. His infatuation with Hikari was not new, so it was starting to become a major annoyance for her. Takeru's addition to the mix did nothing but aggravated the situation, where Kimikura Youhei felt his position threatened by the new, handsome, blonde foreign student. _Let's hope things don't get out of hand…_Sakuya thought and also headed back to her class when the bell rang.

Meanwhile, clueless to Sakuya and Kimikura's little encountering, Takeru and Hikari headed back together, side by side. In the class they greeted Sakuya, who had already returned. "I see you two made up, it's about time!" smiled Sakuya, who faked ignorance.

"I also had to apologize to you for my misbehavior, Sakuya." Takeru scratched his head, embarrassed by his previous trespasses, and bowed slightly.

"And I too for taking the joke too far, Takeru-kun." Sakuya apologized, seriously this time.  
Hikari smiled widely. Nothing can make her happier than seeing everybody getting along nice and merrily, which was probably why she disliked people being angry at anyone. But in today case even Hikari herself thought she might have reacted too strongly, and it puzzled her as to why. As long as she remembered, never had she broken out into tears like today, and it was especially odd that she cried before a guy, albeit he was a good friend. But the commencement of the afternoon classes soon distracted her from that thought, and the ongoing day became as any ordinary afternoon.

As if time were flying by, the bell soon rang for the end of the last class. The heavy atmosphere that hung about the room lifted and students began packing up as the teacher left the room. Takeru stretched his sore limbs and also began to pack up. "Takeru-kun, I'm impressed that you actually stayed awake today." Hikari commented as she rose from her chair and put her books inside her bag.

"I was physically awake, but not mentally…Sorry but I'll be needing your notes again, Hikari," Takeru said as he also rose up. "Oi! Sakuya, time to wake up!"  
Sakuya seemed to have knocked out completely by the monotonous lecture of the physics teacher, and remained so even after the bell rang. Takeru and Hikari, after packing up, both shook her gently until she opened her dark chocolate eyes. "Huh…wazzup Takeru-kun…Hikari-chan…" she murmured.

"Time to go home, Sleeping Beauty," Takeru said with a snicker.

"Oh…shut up…it's not like you paid attention," Sakuya retorted with a yawn as she began to clear out her desk drawer for essentials.

"Well…I can't stay, I've got club practice. See you guys at home, Takeru-kun, Sakuya-chan," Hikari said a hurry goodbye as she left them and dotted out the door.

"Club practice? What club is Hikari-chan in?" Takeru asked, not remembering that Hikari had extracurricular activities prior.

"Archery Club, and I from what I've heard she's really good too. It was a club that was going to be closed down last year due to insufficient members. But she became the third member to save it because that's just what she does, helping people unconditionally. That was how she became good friends with Sakagami Tomoyo and Kamikita Komari, by the way. I personally was against it because she runs an inn for crying out loud. How she is able to handle all the stress loads as well as maintaining such good grades are completely beyond me," Sakuya sighed as she reflected on the amazing feats that were of Yagami Hikari. "Being popular sure is hard…I wouldn't want to that kind of attention even if I was on her level," Sakuya and Takeru continued to chat about Hikari as they walked down the halls to the stairs. But as they were about to descend a voice stopped them. "Excuse me…but are you Takaishi Takeru?" They stopped their advance and turned around, to find a medium-height, nerdy looking first year with glasses. He had a holier-than-thou air surrounding him, as if he was a messenger of a king.

"That would be me. How can I help you?" Takeru asked.  
He seemed happy that he found Takeru. "I'm here to issue a challenge, Takaishi Takeru!" he stated loudly. As the surrounding students heard, they gathered around with interest.  
Takeru and Sakuya were bewildered at his statement. "…a challenge? From who, and for what purpose?" Sakuya asked.  
"A challenge, for Takaishi, from the third year Kimikura Youhei-senpai, who awaits your arrival this instant at the gym."

"Kimikura-senpai? Why am I not surprised…" Sakuya sighed as she covered her face with her right hand and shook her head, just had about enough with Kimikura.

"Yes. I am to bring Takaishi there as soon as find him. Now if you'll follow me…"  
"Wait…why is it me?" Takeru asked, looking for a reason as to why the third year would all of sudden place him in this situation.

"You are not to question, but to follow me only," the guy said with a holier-than-thou tone.

"That's it…this is going too far!" Sakuya complained, and was about to grab the guy by the collar when Takeru stopped her.

"Wait, Sakuya-chan…I'll go," Takeru said.  
The deliverer was scared that Sakuya was about to charge at him angrily, but when Takeru restrained her he regained his arrogant composure. "You'll do well to follow me, Takaishi. Now let us go."  
With no other words said, Takeru followed the deliverer. Sakuya and the rest of the crowd followed close behind them.

The kendo club was a well-respected club in Kiromachi High. They had secured many district championships, and had even gone to the nationals a few times in the past years. The club met in the gymnasium next to the main school building, and this is where Takeru and the rest were taken. As they entered the gym they noticed that the seats of the gym were packed with students, even some from other clubs. Apparently words of this "special event" quickly spread like wildfire, and many abandoned their scheduled activities to attend. Kimikura Youhei stood alone in the center of the court, waiting proudly. Takeru and Sakuya followed the messenger while the rest of the other students diffused to the courtside, finding available spaces to sit down. As aforementioned, this event had attracted quite a lot of attention in the school.

"Kimikura-senpai! What is this about?" Sakuya inquired angrily as they stood before the third year. The deliverer also retired to the courtside after completing his objective.

"What else, Matsuda? I am here to display my love and determination for none other than my Hikari. And don't you worry, I have teachers' and student council's permission to host this event." Kimikura replied.

"As much as I don't like your character, senpai, I didn't think you'd stoop this low!" Sakuya chastised.

"A man must prove himself in front of all for the one he loves, Matsuda. You will never understand."  
"And you will never understand how big of an ass you are!"  
"Sakuya-chan…let me handle this," Takeru, who had stayed silent since entering the gym, now spoke up.

"But Takeru-kun, this is way out of line! Kimikura-senpai is the best in the kendo club! There's no way you'd beat him in what he's best at!"  
"While that may be true, Sakuya-chan…I will not back away from this," Takeru said simply. It surprised Sakuya how calm Takeru was taking this ruckus, and at first she was going to try to discourage this event from happening by whatever means possible. But seeing the fiery determination in Takeru's azure eyes, she relented, sighed, and also retreated to the side, surprisingly finding none other than Yagami Hikari and her archery clubbers among the spectators.  
"Hikari-chan? What are you doing here?" Sakuya asked.

"Well…I was kind of dragged here by some people. What's going on, Sakuya-chan?" Hikari asked. Truthfully, she didn't have a clue what was happening.  
Sakuya palmed her own forehead in disbelief. She then turned to Komari and Tomoyo, who gave her the 'we know but we didn't tell her' look. Sakuya sighed, and took Hikari by the hand. "I'm borrowing her, is that okay?" she asked the two members of the archery club. They agreed, and Sakuya then dragged Hikari toward the two guys in the center of attention. "You caused this fight, Hikari-chan. So I'll have you take responsibility!" Hikari trailed behind her, unsure still of the exact meaning behind Sakuya's words.

Meanwhile, Kimikura and Takeru were having a standoff.

"Be ready to be embarrassed for the rest of your high school career, newbie. It serves you right for trying to challenge me," Kimikura stated.

"Senpai…is there really no other way to resolve this?" Takeru said, ignoring his jeer.

"Hah…are you backing out after coming so far? Just as I expected, you have no guts. Of course there's a way. You'll swear to the entire student body that you will never talk to or even have anything to do with Hikari. In other words, you'll no longer be a part of her life. Also, you'll get on your knees, admit your faults, and say that Hikari is forever mine!"  
"Is that the price for resolving this peacefully?" Takeru asked, still calmly.

"It is but a small price to pay for your everlasting embarrassment."  
"…then I have no regrets, Kimikura-senpai. I vow to the goddess of dawn Micaiah that you will be defeated!" Takeru roared, and everyone in the gym silenced uniformly, seeing that it was finally about to begin.

"Goddess Micaiah, what are you…no matter, as long as you don't wimp out? Well then…I'll make it simple. We'll have a match. Best out of three. Whoever knocks the opponent's wooden katana out of his hands wins. No armor or guard, and all body parts but the groins are fair game. Is that clear?"  
"Of course…and the stakes?"  
"Your stakes will be whatever I said before, so name yours!" Kimikura said.

"Then my stake is simple, that you simply do not come between my and Hikari's relationship ever again. Do we have a deal, senpai?" Takeru stated.  
Hearing Takeru's terms, he laughed, "Agreed. Although I must well not have as there is no way I'd lose to the likes of you!" he jeered confidently.

"Right back at you, senpai!" Takeru retorted.  
The two then shook on their promise as the stadium roared with excitement. The match had officially begun.

A girl approached the two, carrying two wooden katana. "Um…please take the katana, and do well, both of you. Try not to get hurt," she said. The two turned to face her after over minutes of their eyes deadlocking with each other, only to find that the person holding their weapons was none other than the source of this conflict, Hikari. She was still confused as to why the two would be fighting over the right to speak to her, and looked with bewilderment and concern for the both of them.

"Ah! My Hikari! Thank you for bring me the katana. The waves that impede our advance toward love shall qualm soon, I assure you!" Kimikura said, as he took the weapon from her hands. Hikari made no reply to his comment, and merely walked to Takeru, motioning him to take his katana.

"Takeru-kun, good luck!" she said simply.

"Hikari…" he started, now with more determination, "…I'll definitely win, for you!" he proclaimed.  
Hikari, blushing at his words, said, "Ta-Takeru-kun…"  
But Kimikura did not wait until she finished, and went into full charge toward Takeru's direction. Seeing this, Takeru took a step forward in front of Hikari. Kimikura, upon closing in on Takeru, brought his blade down full strength at his head. Takeru then brought his own blade above his head and parried the attack, and spoke, "It's not good to cheat, senpai!"  
Kimikura, seeing that his attack failed to surprise his enemy, broke off and went into neutral stance. "I only use this when my opponent is unworthy of my time. Besides, the match had already begun the moment we shook."  
But Takeru was not fazed, "you'll do well not to underestimate me, senpai."  
As much as he hated to admit it, deep down Kimikura knew that Takeru was not as weak as he had expected. By seeing the quick and cold judgment, as well as the swiftness of Takeru's parry, he could infer that Takeru was no stranger to kendo combat. Kimikura was every bit proud and arrogant, but not stupid. He was not named the best of the kendo club just for his big talks, after all.

Indeed Takeru had been familiar with the art of sword fighting since he was young. Of Japanese origin, his father was actually a well-respected exorcist in the magic realm during his youth in Japan, before he moved to Britain. As the successor of Souten Meitsuki Ryuu (蒼天明月流, literally Style of Azure Sky, Bright Moon), he had ingrained in his sons Yamato and Takeru his way of the sword since their youth. Because of the special circumstance with Nina's appointment, Hiroaki was unable to devote as much time to Takeru's training as he had with his first born. Yet, though Takeru did not excel with the blade as his older brother had, he was still decent, and definitely above average. Thus when he had heard that Kimikura's challenge was of kendo, he did not back down one bit.

Takeru, seeing that Kimikura took a defensive stance, decided to initiate an attack. He dashed toward the older challenger, and struck at his hand with the tip of his katana at a speed unseen by Kimikura before, which made him falter and failed to respond, leading to Takeru's taking advantage and knocking the wooden katana out of his hands.

Kimikura, as well as rest of the crowd, was astonished by how well the foreign transfer student was holding up, even gaining advantage by winning the first match with only five minutes elapsing since the first clash. The champion of the kendo club seemed angry, yet a bit happy that he finally was matched against someone of skill. "Not bad, brat. It won't be so easy on the next one!" Kimikura shouted as he picked up his wooden katana and went into another defensive stance. Takeru observed carefully his stance, and found not one hole in his defense. He realized that the only reason he was able to hit the katana out of Kimikura's hands the first time was by the element of surprise, not by difference of skills. The two had a standoff for almost five minutes, before Takeru began dashing toward Kimikura again. He performed the same lightning-fast thrust attack, but Kimikura was on guard this time, and took a sidestep, completely avoiding the attack, and spun around to deliver a blow to the back of Takeru's head, but found his attack only striking air, as Takeru had already ducked onto his knees. As Kimikura's blow missed the target, Takeru brought his blade up to perform an uppercut, but he too missed as his opponent was able to jump back fast enough to avoid the attack. The crowd cheered on as the two fought on, basically unable to penetrate the other's guard or catch the other by surprise. Hikari watched on with anxiety as the fight drew on longer and fiercer. She did not take her eyes off the match once, concentrating mentally and physically. Nor did she say a word. Beside her, however, Sakuya was cheering loudly for the blonde seventeen-year-old, who had just narrowly dodged a thrust attack aimed at his head by intentionally falling backward. Seeing that Takeru had fallen onto the ground, Kimikura brought his katana down with a deadly pierce, aiming at Takeru's stomach. But Takeru rolled out of the way and leaped back onto his feet. He charged at Kimikura as soon as he regained his balance, and brought his blade down to the level of his waist, and performed a carefully controlled horizontal slash, hitting Kimikura right in the stomach with just enough strength. The impact yet held enough momentum to propel the older challenger the air, he then landed back first onto the wooden floor. As he was about to get up Takeru was already standing next to him, the blonde's katana leveled in front of his eyes. Having made sure that Kimikura was unable to move, he then kicked the katana from his opponent's hand. Thus end the match, with Takeru securing an one-sided victory over Kimikura.

The crowd all rose with surprise as the victor Takaishi Takeru walked away toward the two girls that rushed at him. The champion of the kendo club had lost to the transfer student. "I'm back, Hikari, Sakuya," Takeru said as he stood right next to the two.

"Takeru-kun, you're not hurt anywhere are you?" Hikari asked worriedly.  
Sakuya thoroughly examined him, "Nothing more than a few bruises, as expected of you!" she said cheerfully, assuring Hikari that Takeru was all right.  
Amidst the crowd's cheering and the three friends' conversation, Kimikura Youhei stood up, with rage in his eyes, and picked up the fallen katana. "This isn't over, Takaishi! Prepare yourself!" he exclaimed angrily, not believing that he had just lost to the blonde foreigner.

"Senpai, the match has been decided. Your katana was knocked out of your hands two times. According to the terms of this match I have already won, and by our agreement fulfill your part!" Takeru said coldly.

"Agreement? With the likes of you? You'd be idiotic to think I would honor that!"  
"I thought so…you will even discard your honor and dignity as a swordsman. Breaking the terms of the challenge just proves that you deserve no more respect than a coward! I will never hand over Hikari to the likes of you!" Takeru furiously chastised the senior.  
But that seemed to have angered Kimikura even more, rather than shaming him, "You…You…ever since you came…it's all because of you! Yagami Hikari is _mine_! _Takaishi_!" he shouted as he hurled the wooden katana at Takeru, disregarding the two girls that stood only a few inches next to him. The katana rotated horizontally, but instead of aimed at Takeru it seemed to be traveling off-course straight for Hikari. Takeru saw this, and quickly shuffled himself in front of the said girl, and took the blow on his forehead dangerously near the eye. Even though it was only a wooden katana, it still ruptured the skin and thus Takeru bled. The force of impact knocked his rectangular glasses askew and he held to his wound with his left hand painfully. Sakuya was outraged, "How can you do this, you big loser! And in front of half of the school too!" she shouted angrily at senior, and looked around for the responses of the crowd, but for a reason unbeknownst to her, the crowd now seemed blurry and far away, and only silence prevailed.

Hikari Yagami, after taking out a handkerchief and saw to it that Takeru's wound had ceased to bleed, marched toward Kimikura. He was delighted at her approaching, "_Ahahaha_…of course you'd rather be with me than with that worm, don't you, my Hikari," he laughed, but was silenced when he felt a severe sting on his left cheek. Hikari had just slapped him across the face, "Kimikura-senpai…I had respected you as an upperclassman! All of this happened because I rejected you a couple of months back, but why did you not come after me? Instead you went after Takeru-kun, who did nothing wrong! I never expect you to be such a coward! Senpai, let this be the last time that I will ever speak to you again!" she said, with an outraged face. Takeru was quite taken back at how Hikari could be so adamant and forceful when she was angry.

Kimikura turned his head slowly back to the center, and stared straight into Hikari's ruby red eyes, filled with anger and adamancy. Before she had time to act Kimikura cried out and grabbed her by the throat, slowly lifting her up from the ground. "_Hikari!_" Takeru cried out, surprised that Kimikura had sunk this low.

"_If I can't have you, no one can!_" said Kimikura, his voice almost demonic. Hikari squirmed at his grasp, unable to break free. Seeing the situation worsening, Takeru charged toward them. As he close in on Kimikura and was about to strike with his wooden katana, however, Kimikura raised his free hand at him, and an unknown force hit Takeru square in the chest, breaking the katana in the process. He flew right back to where he was, and skillfully somersaulted in the air and landed on his feet. "What the…how?" Takeru was puzzled at the sudden turn of event.

"Takeru-kun…you had better be on guard," Sakuya, who refrained from moving these past seconds, advised him. Takeru only looked at her, wondering why.  
Having seen Takeru being repelled back, Kimikura turned his attention back to Hikari. "Now, Hikari…do you love me? Say you do and I will spare your life," he hissed, his voice sounding more and more demonic by the moment.  
Hikari continued to struggle against Kimikura, but still to no avail. She was beginning to run out of air. "Ta…ke…ru…ku…n" she struggled to let out.  
Enrage, Kimikura roared, "So that's your answer huh. Well then, say goodbye, my love!" he squeezed even harder, and Hikari, who finally could not take the abuse, succumbed to unconsciousness.  
But just before the last breath of air left her, her body began to glow. Faintly at first, it then became brighter and brighter. At the same time the temperature of her body also seemed to have elevated as well, and the longer Kimikura held on, the more it felt like his hands were incinerating. Soon he let out a loud cry, and tossed Hikari far away, thankfully however toward Takeru's direction. As soon as he saw Hikari flying through the air, Takeru dashed to her, and caught her, cuddling her in his arms. The light faded as its host was in safety. Then, seeing that the hostage had been free, Sakuya summoned her thunder charm, "Reidou no Jyuu, **Hatenrai**! (Spiritual Art Ten, Sky-Shattering Thunder!)" She shot forth her lighting spell at the demonic senior, knocking him back quite some distance. "I had always wanted to do that," she smiled with undeniable hint of malice.

"Hikari…Hikari…are you okay?" Takeru gently shook her and questioned nervously, not even registering how and why the mysterious glow had happened. Instead, he focused only on the wellbeing of the brunette who he now cradled in his arms. Hikari had already lost consciousness due to the abuse, but having checked to see that she was at least breathing regularly again, Takeru breathed easily with relief, and gently placed her immobile figure down onto the wooden ground of the gym. "Altrasaz le Maestra, fifteen spirits of light, protect my ally…**Light Force Shield**!" Under his shirt Raging Gale shone with brilliant blue light, and enveloped Hikari inside a protective, half-dome barrier. Then Takeru began his chant.

"Winds of the eight directions, hear my cry. Upon our contract I have summon thee from afar. Spirits of zephyr and storm who hear my summons, answer my call as thou descend to my side.

"Raging Gale, formed from the tears of spirits of the eight winds, reborn anew into my staff! And show thy true form! Release thy restraint and lend me thy true power!"

A brilliant white light then enveloped Takeru, and few seconds later it dissipated, revealing the transformed Takeru. His school uniform was replaced by the green t-shirt, mahogany pants, black cross strips fixated around his shoulder and waist, emerald cloak, oaken gloves, and black heavy boots. In his hand held the familiar Raging Gale staff, he was now in mage form.

"Sakuya…what is going on exactly?" Takeru asked sternly.

"It seems that we're in the middle of a dimensional rift…caused by Kimikura-senpai," Sakuya answered.

"Are you suggesting that he possesses some sort of power?"  
"No…rather, he's possessed, by a lesser demon, below the rank of Tabeyume (Dreameater). If I have to guess it's probably one of those who feed off negative emotions. Now that I think about it Kimikura-senpai had been quite abnormal, more forceful, ever since Hikari-chan rejected him a few months ago. Who would've thought he was possessed…and it seems like the negative emotions were quite concentrated and powerful for the lesser demon to gain enough strength to cause a dimensional rift," Sakuya explained.

"Then what are we going to do? As much as that I don't like Kimikura-san, we can't just blast him to pieces!" Takeru reverted most of his ill-feeling toward Kimikura Youhei after realizing that he was not acting on his own accord one hundred percent.  
"We'll have to exercise the demon…but that's easier said than done. Takeru-kun…can I count on you to hold him off while I prepare the purification spell?"  
"Of course, you just concentrate on getting it ready," and with that he dashed toward Demon Kimikura, who have by now shaken off the paralyzing effect of Sakuya's Sky-Shattering Thunder.

"Magic Shooter, Wind Restraint! Twenty arrows of wind, **Restrict Lock**!" Twenty beams of air then appeared from the ground beneath Kimikura, and wrapped around his body, limbs, and neck, securely immobilizing him. "Altrasaz le Maestra! Come, ten spirits of light! Oh holy deity of heavens, answer my calling. Goddess of everlasting light who laments the suffering, be reborn onto this dark earth into being, and bestow thy infinite might upon me. Divine ray which dispels the darkness, descend from the high heavens, and bring forth celestial illumination!" Particles of light began to assemble in front of the mage, though not as much as usual. When the particles had accreted into a medium sized energy orb, Takeru brought his staff forward, and fired the spell. "**Divine…Buster****!**" he declared. But right as the beam of energy raced toward the possessed Kimikura, he freed himself from the binding spell and leaped to the air, to a distance unreachable by human feat, thus missing him as it rushed forward and hit the wall of the dimensional rift, dissipating. The demon upperclassman then accelerated downward, using gravity to gain velocity, held out his hand to form a dark energy katana, and brought the blade down in attempt to slice Takeru into halves. The bespectacled blonde, having missed, brought his staff over his head to block the attack. But the demon's takeover of Kimikura's body had multiply his strength and speed by at least three-fold, and he, sensing that his staff might be severed in half if they went into deadlock, parried him away instead. However the demon didn't relent, and as soon as soon as he landed he charged toward Takeru, bringing his katana to his left and performed a horizontal slash. Takeru was caught off-guard, and only leaped back far enough as not to be slashed into two, suffering a light graze across his chest. But the attack was not yet finished. The horizontal slash sent out a concentrated air wave that knocked him back a couple of meters.

Takeru, after regaining control of his senses, slowly stood up from the ground unto which he was knocked. _Looks like there's no choice…_he thought. He then dug into his pocket, and produced a gold Pactio card, the proof of his provisional contract. "Shine thy lucent rays upon the suffering, Rengetsu!" With that his provisional contract illuminated with golden light, and Takeru brought it close to Raging Gale's crystal. The staff also began to glow as it seems to absorb the card into itself, and morphed. Takeru then brought the cluster of light to his front, and held it with two hands at the bottom. No sooner the light dissipated all at once, and a thin, faintly glowing, golden curved blade was produced. Its hilt bore the reduced crystal of Raging Gale. With his new weapon, Takeru again dashed at demon Kimikura. The demon also charged at his adversary, and the two blades met in a deadlock.

Amidst the furious battle between the two, Sakuya prepared for the purification. Four charms appeared upon her summon, each bearing one of the four elements: thunder, fire, water, and wind. The charms individually teleported one meter away from Sakuya and arranged themselves into a square, slowly rotating around the center where Sakuya stood. Seeing everything is in position, she began chanting, "Byakko, Seiryuu, Genbu! Oh guardians of the four directions, combine thy power with Suzaku of the South. Lord of Vermillion, take to the high skies, and rain thy radiance to the sinners below!" As Sakuya chanted, the charms on the periphery began to rotate with greater speed, only to come to a stop when she finished the ceremony, with Fire in the front, Wind to the left, Ice in the back, and Thunder to the right. The charms outlining the square then glowed, and beams of white light connected the four charms. The fire charm, having absorbed all the energy from the other four element, glowed brilliantly, and phased into an orb of pure white flames, still growing as Sakuya kept channeling her magic.

As Takeru and Kimikura were locked in a draw, light appeared from their left side. Sakuya's spell had gathered so much energy that the area surrounding her became radiant with light particles. Kimikura, distressing, broke the deadlock and headed for Sakuya. But Takeru read this, and caught up to him, and knocked him from the back, "Magic Shooter, Wind Restraint! Twenty arrows of wind, **Restrict Lock**!" Again chains of wind bounded Kimikura while he was momentarily off guard. Except this time Takeru concentrated on the bind so that it would not break as easily. "_Sakuya! Now!_" Takeru shouted as he leaped out of the path of the Sakuya's spell.

Sakuya took the hint, and raised her right hand to the orb of white flames, "_Exorcism Art, Fire Style!_ **Seioume****m****maen** (Saint Emperor's Demon Slaying Flames) [退魔術、炎の式！聖皇滅魔炎]!" she declared, and the spell burst forward in a huge torrent of white flames, catching the immobilized demon Kimikura in its wake. Kimikura screamed painfully as the spell incinerated the demon that was in control, but not harming his body or mind in the slightest. Takeru looked in awe as the stream of white passed by, and could not help but respect Sakuya and her oriental magic more than before. When the spell finally subsided, Kimikura was seen standing, with steams coming off his body but no sign of burnt marks. He then fell slowly face forward onto the ground, and Takeru, seeing the battle over, went to check on him, and gave a long sigh when he fail to detect any remaining demonic presence within him. He then dispelled his battle garments and devices and looked to Sakuya, wanting to congratulate her, but saw that she too, spent from the attack, had fallen to the ground not far from Hikari. Still the concern now was not about how to revive her, but rather how to get the three unconscious people from here before the dimensional rift automatically repaired as the source was now exorcised. Fortunately, two magic circles appeared under the two groups, teleporting them away from the scene of battle.

The four reappeared in the principal's office, where the kind face of Matsuda Fujitaka awaited them. "Good afternoon, Takeru-kun. A job well done as always," he said simply.  
"Fujitaka-sensei…" Takeru began, but stopped, and instead went to check on Hikari and Sakuya, both of whom seemed fine and were merely fast asleep.

"I see that the lesser demon within Kimikura-san was the cause this time," said the Kiromachi High principal as he examined the unconscious Kimikura Youhei. "It is not uncommon that lesser demon feed on human with negative emotions and take over the host. It is my fault for not detecting it sooner."  
"No…it is my fault too, for not noticing, and still provoking Kimikura-senpai," Takeru muttered apologetically, but not turning his attention away from Hikari and Sakuya.  
Fujitaka sighed, and after fully examining Kimikura, walked next to his daughter, and parted her sweat-gleamed hair from her eyelids with care, his face with a troubled look. "Looks like she tried a way too hard. Too reckless, this child…using spells way over her magical capacity. If she keeps doing this it will only become more taxing on her body. Keep an eye on her, will you, Takeru-kun?"  
"I will, Fujitaka-sensei." Takeru agreed, and continued to ask, "By the way, what is going to happen to Kimikura-san?"  
"He's fine, but it looks like the lesser demon had stayed in his body for too long. By the looks of it, he won't be waking up until we can mend his consciousness back to normal…we'll need to send him to a specialist for further treatment. I'll take care of the rest, so rest at ease, Takeru-kun," he said. "In the meantime, why don't you take Yagami-san home?"

"What about Sakuya?"  
"I have a few more things to instruct her when she wakes up. I'll send her back afterwards."  
"I see…alright, sir. I will take my leave then," and with that Takeru knelt down, picked up gently and leant Hikari onto his back, and stood up as he carryied her. He lightly bowed to Matsuda Fujitaka as a goodbye, and walked out of the principal's office.

When the pair left the room, Fujitaka turned his attention to his daughter. "You can't keep doing this, Sakuya-san, it was a lucky break last time and this time too that Takeru-kun was around…" he held one hand slightly above Sakuya's breasts, and muttered a chant. "White Tiger of the West, answer my summon. Thy seven celestial stars, Kei Rou I Bou Hi Shi Shin, descend, and become my zephyr of healing!

"Reidou no Nijyuusan, **Kazahana** (Spiritual Art Number Twenty Three,** Blossoming Wind**) [霊道の二十三、**風花**]" Soon his hand began to glow with jade light, and an orb of magical energy gathered in his palm, spreading soothing particles of magical energy to his unconscious daughter. "What would I say to Tsuiling-san in the next world if you come in harm's way? Yet, I suppose it was my fault that you are like this. I…made the right choice did I not, Tsuiling-san…" Fujitaka sighed as he continued to treat his precious daughter.

As Takeru walked down the streets of the late afternoon Kiromachi carrying Hikari on his back, he met many responses. From older folks, he heard them referring them as the prime example the 'so called' teenagers these days, only caring about relationships and not about schoolwork. From his schoolmates whom he randomly passed by, he was greeted with mixture of jealousy, leers, and wolf whistles. And from little kids…well, they were too busy at their plays to care.  
Hikari's slow breathing blew waves of sensuous air at Takeru's neck, causing his cheek to glow with deep scarlet. The fact that her breasts gently pushed at his back did nothing but aggravate the blood rush, although the effect is less noticeable with the hue of the afternoon sun coloring everything with orange and light red. But, embarrassed as he was, carrying an unconscious, sixteen-year-old girl in the public, he would not trade places with anyone at the moment. Yagami Hikari was the trophy he had won, and he would not give her up for anything. Emotions aside, he felt obligated to do this, since it was mostly his fault that this happened.

Hikari stirred as the two were nearing on their home. "Mhmm…" she moaned slightly, and shifted the position of her head. "…love…" she muttered. Takeru then froze, wide-eyed at the teenage innkeeper's stirring remark. He turned his head to get a glimpse her sleeping face. It was full of comfort and satisfaction. _Am I mistaken?_ Takeru thought to himself.

"…I…love…strawberry sundae…" This made Takeru tumble, almost dropping his still asleep friend. She wasn't talking about him…she was talking about a damn strawberry sundae! When he recovered, he began laughing out loud, at Hikari's silliness and at everything that had happened in this one short day.  
Combination of his sudden jerk and his laughing finally awoken Hikari, and she opened her drowsy, red eyes to study the surrounding. "…Hm? Takeru-kun…why are we here? Weren't we at the gym? What happened exactly?"  
"Don't you remember, Hikari? I won the match and we went on a date to a sundae shop, where you devoured a strawberry sundae all by yourself!" Takeru joked.

"Huh? Really? Now that you mention it I _do_ remember saying something about loving strawberry sundae…" she said, her mind still cloudy from the deep sleep.  
Takeru again laughed, "I'm really, really glad that I have you in my life, Hikari! You make every day so interesting!"  
Hikari looked at him with a confused look, but seeing how happy that Takeru was, she too smile. Not caring about as to why he was carrying her, she hugged to him even closer, burying her head into Takeru's broad shoulder, and enjoying the closing to the weird day they had as they ascended the stairs that lead them to their home.

And maybe…just maybe…she had found the answer to her question…


	12. The Takeharas

The week after Kimikura Youhei's defeat, for Takeru, filled with many other challenges, from baseball to tennis to basketball, from the diehard fans of his beautiful friend Yagami Hikari. Initiated by the Kendo Captain's first challenge, the movement gained intensity as more joined. Annoyed as he was, Takeru took care of them one by one. And, unnerved then by the blonde transfer student's superb athletic abilities, they reluctantly gave up trying to separate Takeru from Hikari's side. Takeru, Hikari, and Sakuya were all glad that the ridiculously long list of challenges had finally come to an end. The time then quickly passed into the month of April in Kiromachi, the Crossroads Town. The cuts and bruises healed with the passing days, and the outrageous week's events were out of the students' discussions as it switched to more recent topics about the upcoming Golden Week. Everything resumed to normality as cherry blossoms bloom, their annual peach-colored pedals filled the town's air for the first time this year. Likewise the naked sakura tree of the Yagami Inn also became liven with the full-blooming sakurahana. Shortly after Kiromachi High dismissed for spring vacation, and for once since Takeru's arrival it was a full house at the inn…minus one person.

Vacation had begun, and Takehara Takeshi saw this as a perfect opportunity to pick up extra shifts to rake in extra income. The grocery store manager, though preferring the kid to be enjoying his childhood instead, nonetheless welcomed his extra inputs for the week. So, adding on to his usual afternoon shifts, he decided to take up all the earlier shifts as well, meaning that he would now be absent from the inn from sun up to late at night. Hikari, as current acting guardian of the Takeharas, decided against her better judgment to give him permission after he so adamantly demanded for this opportunity. Happy that he can earn more money, Takeshi awoke before sunrise and left the inn at around five thirty in the morning.

Takehara Minako woke up at around ten, and yawned as she stretched out her limbs. She looked about her sparsely occupied room groggily, and sighed sadly at the vacant spot next to her where her brother Takeshi had been the night before. After rising to fold her futons away, she proceeded out the bedroom door, leaving behind the lonely room. She headed toward the bathroom sleepily to brush her teeth in her gold and white lined pajamas, her head weighing heavily on her neck.

"Ah…Minako-chan, morning!" said a cheery, incoming voice as the six-year-old girl was on the way to her morning routine. Minako stopped her steps and looked toward the source of the voice. Matsuda Sakuya walked toward her, dressed in a dark blue hooded sweater and a light red, breezy short skirt. For once she did not tie her hair into twintails on the two sides of her head. Instead, her straight, black hair now reached a little pass her shoulder. "Good morning, Sakuya-nee, are you going out?"  
"Yeah, I just got a call from Tou-chan and I'm meeting up with him for lunch. Can you tell Hikari that for me? I'm kind of in a hurry."  
"Sure, I will."  
"Thanks, Minako-chan! I'll bring some tasty snacks later ok? Look forward to it!" After giving her a pat on the head and waving goodbye to Minako, Sakuya headed speedily toward the inn's entrance.  
The young fuchsia-haired girl in her pajamas saw off Sakuya until the teen turned the corner. She then headed on to the bathroom to finish her business, and decided to look for things to do with the other tenants. She first tried Shiratori Ryuushi's place, and peeked into the door ajar, revealing the black-haired author's room. She was about to call out to him, but saw that Shiratori was sitting before his desk, concentrating deeply in his work lying in piles before him. Not wanting to bother him while he was busy, Minako tip-toed away silently. The moment soon after she had vacated the doorway the author turned around. _Hmm…was someone there?_ he thought, before shrugging it off and resumed his work.

With Shiratori-san unavailable, Minako then headed to the Osaka University graduate student Furude Fumiko, who had returned home the night before after nearly two months of absence. She gently knocked on the door of room 5, but yielded no response. She then tried to open the door, only to find it locked. Leaning on the door and placing her ear on the door, she could barely make out a snoring noise coming from the inside. Apparently Fumiko was sleeping quite soundly. Discouraged, Minako then headed off toward the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, two friendly faces met hers.  
"Ah…Minako-chan, you're finally awake," said the teenage innkeeper in front of the sink cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.  
"Good morning, Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan." Minako greeted them.  
"Have you brushed your teeth yet, Minako-chan?" asked the bespectacled blonde Takaishi Takeru, who wore a gray hooded sweater and a pair of blue jeans and sat at the large kitchen table, sipping at a cup of tea brewed by Hikari.  
"Of course! Minako is a good girl!" the young girl said happily as she walked up next to Takeru and showed him her teeth, as if letting him inspect.  
Takeru chuckled, and ruffled her messy, unbraided fuchsia hair, "Of course you are, Minako-chan. Do you want anything to eat?"  
Minako rubbed her stomach before making up her mind, "No, it's okay. It's almost lunchtime already, so I'll wait. I'm going to watch TV now, bye!" she began to dashed off, but turned around suddenly, remembering something. "Oh…I almost forgot. Sakuya-neechan went to have lunch with her papa, and she wanted me to tell you. That's all!" Having finished her entrusted duty, she proceeded out of the kitchen. The two saw her off before resuming their own business.

"You know, Minako kind of reminds me of someone…" Takeru stated after taking another sip of his tea.  
"And who might that be?" asked Hikari, who resumed washing the dishes.  
"My little sister, Mogusaki, when she was about Minako's age. How would I put this…I guess she kinda gives off the same vibe."  
"You don't talk about your sister too often, Takeru-kun," Hikari said as she turned on the faucet to rinse the plates and bowls.  
"Really? And there I thought I would pass off as a doting brother. Well is there anything you want to know about her?"  
"Just general stuff, like what kind of a person she is."  
Takeru thought about how to describe his little sister Mogusaki, before beginning, "Well…she's around Takeshi-kun's age, younger by seven months. She was quite sickly before turning five, but she turned out fine. Oh…and she loves to read. It was all I use to see her do since she was very young. We get along really well. Maybe that's because she hasn't reached the rebellious age yet, but who knows? She's usually happy and cheerful, and loves to do all house chores except cooking. We tried once to rotate making dinner every night because our parents are never home, and let's just say her cooking is…only a bit above the edible level. What else…oh, I think I mentioned this to you before but she's a prodigy in school, and is going to graduate from the school I had just graduated from last year."  
"Oh yeah, you did say that she skipped many grades."  
"Yeah…It's hard to believe but it's true, and because of that my friends back at home and other people often tease me about it. They're always like, your sister is so smart…so what happened to you?" he said this with a slight trace of indignation. Hikari giggled at his show of emotion as Takeru continued, "But even though she's mature for her age, around me she still acts like a little girl. She still jumps and clings onto me out of the blue, play harmless pranks on me, and follow me everywhere. Oh, and we live in the same room back home, so she'd always climb into my bed at night. She claims that my bed is more comfortable, but in my opinion she just likes giving me a good scare in the morning, especially now that she's in the teens. I don't mind it at all when she was younger, but now that'd she's older I don't know if it's still appropriate."  
"Sounds like she really loves you as a big brother, and is able to be more like a child when she's around you. That's a good thing. It'd be bad if she can't, because it wouldn't be healthy for a child not act her age."  
Takeru chuckled, "Are you hinting at Takeshi-kun?"  
Hikari nodded, "Sometimes I really don't know what to do with him. He always acts so distant, even after I got to know him better on a personal level. I would really love it for him to open up and rely on me more, but he's just too independent. Perhaps it's because they were orphaned at such a young age?"  
"If I have to say, I think it's because Takeshi developed an awry sense of responsibility that he had to take care of everything they need, and couldn't help but see help from other people as favors that needed to be repaid. Therefore he'd rather shoulder everything on his own. Being a brother myself I understand his way of thinking, but I think he's just taken this brotherly obligation to the extreme," Takeru analyzed the older Takehara sibling's situation.  
"In any case, I just wish Takeshi-kun act more like his age, like your sister do. It's heartbreaking to see such a young child shouldering so much responsibility alone."

Takeru lifted the ceramic tea cup and sipped some tea. "Hikari, since you brought it up, don't you realize you're exactly like that as well?"  
This surprised the innkeeper, and made her turn around to look at him, "Do I? In what ways?"

"Well, for one, you're running this inn, and you're only older than Takeshi-kun by a few years, right?"  
"But that's different. Shiratori-san and Fumiko-san had actually taught me a lot when I first inherited the inn, and I had all sorts of help when I first learned how to run an inn. Even now I know I can count on everyone to help me out when I'm need it."  
"I see your point, and I'm glad you're doing this because you've made this place such a nice home for all of us. I probably don't say this enough, but you're an excellent manager," Takeru thanked her.  
This made Hikari blush with embarrassment and gratitude, "Wow, Takeru-kun, I didn't know you're such a sweet talker."  
"Only saying what's true, Hikari. But back to Takeshi-kun, what are you going to do about him?"  
Hikari sighed as she placed the last of the washed dishes in the dish dryer, and turned on the machine. She dried her hands with a kitchen towel, took off her apron, and sat down opposite to the spectacled blonde, "Well, I've tried my best with Takeshi-kun since the Takeharas started living here, but nothing worked. So I'm thinking the only thing I can do is making sure, to the best of my ability, that Minako-chan doesn't feel lonely without her brother's company."  
Takeru said nothing to this as he only gazed at Hikari, making the brunette a little nervous, "What is it, Takeru-kun? Is there something on my face?"  
Takeru smiled, "No, that's not it. It's just that it I'm quite taken back on how much time effort you spend caring for the Takerhara siblings. I was just thinking that what a wonderful mother you're going to be one day."  
Hikari smiled at his compliment, "Takeru-kun, you're just giving compliments one after another today! Are you hitting on me?" she joked.  
"Any guy in the right mind would hit on you, Hikari. That's why you're so popular, after all." said Takeru, averting being embarrassed.  
Seeing that she failed, Hikari decided to go a little further, "Well, I'm quite flattered, Takeru-kun. So does that mean you're interested in me?"  
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be interested? You're a good friend of mine after all!" Takeru sidestepped her jab.  
Surprised how well Takeru was faring in this situation, Hikari then took it one step further, "Then, you wouldn't mind going on a date with me then?"  
"Of course, I would love to go on a date with y…wait, _what_?" this finally broke Takeru, as he leaped out of his chair in an instant, surprised.

"Yeah, I mean you've gone on one with Sakuya-chan when you first came here. It's only fair you go on one with me too!" Hikari said with a big smile, clearly enjoying the surprised look on her friend's face.  
"Hi…Hikari…are you serious? Does that mean we're…we're…" Takeru couldn't even finish.  
Having satisfied herself seeing the distressing blonde, Hikari revealed her true intention, "Yup! We're going out to have fun with Minako-chan today!" Her revelation made Takeru-kun fall onto his back with surprise, along a trace of disappointment.

Meanwhile, having reached the living room, Minako sat down on the black leather couch and turned on the TV. She casually flipped through the channels until something caught her interest. It was a commercial about a recently opened amusement park in a nearby city. She stared sadly at the television screen. _Stupid onii-chan…you promised…_she thought to herself as the commercial ranted on about the new exciting rollercoaster rides and other attractions.  
"Ah…that's the commercial about that new theme park isn't it?" said a voice approaching from the hall. Takaishi Takeru emerged in the same attire of gray hooded sweatshirt and faded jeans. He walked to the couch and sat down next to the six-year-old girl.  
"Yeah…" Minako replied simply, and flipped to another channel when the commercial ended.  
"Minako-chan, what's wrong?" Sensing a displeased feeling radiating from the young girl, Takeru asked.  
"My brother…" she started, "he promised me a month ago that we'd go to that park today. I was so excited when he said that, but who knew he would break his promise!  
"I wasn't asking for much! I know that onii-chan is busy with his work and all, and that's why I asked him on his day off. Who knew he'd forget about it completely and pick up an extra shift…"

"Takeshi-kun, huh…" Takeru sighed, placing a comforting hand around her shoulder. The two sat in silence, watching the television screen for a quiet moment before Takeru spoke up again. "Minako-chan, if it's not too late…"  
Minako turned her head to face him, "What is it, Takeru-niichan?"  
"…would you, by any chance, like to go to the park with me and Hikari?" he said with a kind smile.  
His suggestion piqued her interest, "To the amusement park? With you and Hikari-neechan?"

"Yeah! Why not? I would love to go!" exclaimed a thrilled voice. Yagami Hikari came in dressed in a white, woolen sweater and a pink short skirt, coupled with white, knee length socks.  
Minako looked at them for a few second before cracking into laughter, "Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan, that was the worst acting I have _ever_ seen!"  
"So will you come with us?" Takeru asked, chuckling as he stood up from the couch and walked to Hikari's side.  
"Yeah, of course! I'm going to get ready. Thank you, I'm so happy!" she said as she gave the two quick hugs before skipping off toward her room, singing merrily 'I'm going to the park' in a self-created melody. As the two teenagers watched the merry little girl skip happily away, they gave each other a high five. "Mission complete!" they said simultaneously.

Not long after Minako returned dressed in a faded red, unzipped jacket a size too large for her, and a flowery blouse underneath, completed with a plain brown skirt. Hikari hurriedly braided her hair into two pigtails and when done they were on their way. Minako walked between Takeru and Hikari, her hands holding to theirs as they walked down the maze-like streets of the residential section of Kiromachi.  
"Hey, Hikari! Takaishi-kun!" the three halted their advance and turned to the direction of the caller. It was Sakagami Tomoyo in a sports jacket and gym shorts. Judging by her appearance she was jogging around the town for exercise.  
"Tomoyo-chan! Good day!" Hikari greeted her friend pleasantly as the silver-haired girl jogged toward them.  
"Sakagami-san, you are sure diligent," Takeru said.  
"Well, it's for your own good health to exercise," she replied and turned her attention to the girl standing between the two. She observed Minako for a few seconds, and with a large grin on her face she looked at Takeru and Hikari, "Wow…you guys sure had me fooled, to have a child this big already."  
The jest worked, as it successfully turned both Takeru and Hikari bright red simultaneously.  
Tomoyo then turned to Minako and placed a hand on her head, "So are you going out for a walk with papa and mama today?" she winked at the six-year-old.  
"Yup! Papa and mama are taking me to the amusement park today!" said Minako happily, playing along with the two teen's friend.  
"Mi…Mi…Minako-chan!" Hikari stuttered, embarrassed more by her admittance to Sakagami Tomoyo's joke. Takeru just looked away while scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment.  
Having seen the priceless expressions on their faces, Sakagami laughed. "You two are way too much fun. Catch you later! Bye Minako-chan!" she waved goodbye as she jogged off.  
"Bye Onee-san!" Minako waved back while Takeru and Hikari were still in their embarrassed trances.  
Twenty minutes later the three caught a crowded bus on its way to Kamiyama, a large city next to Kiromachi where the theme park was located. Having never really taken any trips besides for school, the excited Minako moved her head left to right during the bus ride while squirming happily as she sat on Takeru's lap. Takeru and Hikari chatted, happy that Minako was so cheerful. Upon reaching the city, the three descent the bus and walked with the crowd traffic that was heading for one single destination, the Kamiyama Amusement Park. It was a magnificent sight, a conglomeration of rollercoaster rides for children and adults, and everything that the commercial had promised. Minako was ever more hyped up as they passed through the park's entrance gate beholding the land of fun.

For the next few hours it was nonstop parade through the park for the Hikari, Minako, and Takeru. The two teenagers followed the young, tireless girl as she beckoned them onto one ride after another, and had to soothe her disappointment when she couldn't get on some of the rollercoasters because of her height. While watching the parade of life-sized cartoon characters, Minako sat atop Takeru's shoulder to have a clear view over the sea of adults, teens, and children. They even went to see the live action shows of the Kid's TV's newest hit while enjoying their ice creams. Fun time pass by fast as it was now late afternoon. The sun had lowered to the western horizon, dyeing everything orange. Takeru and Minako sat on a wooden bench to rest while Hikari went to get some crepe from a side stand.  
"Wow…I'm hungry…" Takehara Minako pouted as she rubbed her growling stomach.  
"Well…you were the one that would rather do other stuff than eat lunch, after all. On top of that you didn't have breakfast either." Takeru said.  
"Ah…I guess so…" she said as she looked away from Takeru to Hikari. Her face darkened a bit and she started to stare at her shoes, as if lost in thoughts.  
"Minako-chan…did you not have fun?" the spectacled blonde teen beside her quickly asked, worried.  
"Hmm? No, of course not, I had a lot of fun!"  
Takeru observed her for a bit before continuing, "You wish Takeshi-kun could be here too, don't you?"  
"…yeah…" she nodded, "I feel bad enjoying myself when Onii-chan is working hard to support the two of us…I wish he could be here too."  
She continued to stare at her feet, before feeling a hand on her head, gently stroking her hair. She looked up to see Takeru looking at her serenely, with a brotherly feel. "Minako-chan…You mustn't feel guilty. I'm sure he didn't forget today on purpose. Takeshi-kun is working hard because he wants you to be happy, so you have to enjoy yourself for him, right?"  
"I know onii-chan is working hard for me but…sometimes I just wished that he could think of me more than work…" the six-year-old said, her emerald green eyes welling up. "I mean…doesn't he know I just want to be with him?" Tears began to drop onto her skirt as she finally broke the happy going façade that she had always worn, and let Takeru for the first time see just how lonely this six-year-old girl truly felt without her brother.  
Takeru said no more as she cried, and moved closer to her to scoop her up from her seat and placed her in his lap, gently hugging her from the behind. With her teary, green eyes Minako looked up at the sixteen-year-old. "Takeru…nii-chan?"

"It'll be okay, Minako-chan. I promise. If you ever feel lonely, just come to me, okay? Don't hide everything within. It's not good for your health. I may not be a good replacement for Takeshi-kun, but I will always be your brother too!" he said to her.  
This seemed to have calmed her down, as her lip slowly cracked into a smile.  
"And…if you guys ever need anything, you can always come to us…" Takeru continued.  
"Because we are all family, right?" Hikari cut in midway. She smiled lovingly, and handed a strawberry crepe to Minako. The young girl used her sleeve to wipe away her lonely tear, "_Yeah__!_ Thanks, Hikari-neechan, Takeru-niichan!" Minako nodded cheerfully in agreement, before taking a large bite at her long awaited food.  
"Where's my crepe, Hikari?" Takeru asked when he noticed that she's only carrying one more.  
"Sorry…Takeru-kun, but this was the last one so we have to share," she apologized, and took a small bite. She then handed it before Takeru, who also took a bite.  
"This is quite good!" Takeru exclaimed at the delicious tasting pastry, but turned red when he realized he had bitten at the same place where Hikari, just a moment ago, had bit. Hikari took no notice of it as she retrieved the crepe and continued to eat. She offered him it a few more times but each time he refused, too embarrassed, so in the end she ended up finishing the crepe by herself. Minako was already done with hers before she finished, and had drifted asleep leaning her head against Takeru comfortably.  
"Ahaha…looks like our energetic Minako has finally run out of steam," Hikari said as she watched the innocent sleeping face of the six-year-old youngster. Takeru then gently held her by her waist, stood up, and cradled her. After shifting position, Minako again rested her head on Takeru's chest, feeling very satisfied. The two teens looked at each other, and smiled, before walking away from the bench and headed toward the exit as the last of the sun's rays disappeared beneath the horizon.

The night had set upon the town of Kiromachi. The tired eleven-year-old Takehara Takeshi walked through the remnant of the rush hour traffic and the opening night stands and closing shops. He decided to walk the whole way back, and did not arrive at the door of his home until almost nine o'clock. "I'm back!" he shouted loudly as he entered through the glass panel double door. He put away his old, worn sneakers, tucked his feet into his slippers, and proceeded to the kitchen for some dinner possibly.

"Ah, Takeshi-kun, good evening!" En route to the kitchen Takeshi met Takeru, who had just taken a nice dip in the spa bath along with Minako. The said girl was now tucked away, fast asleep in her room. Takeshi bowing lightly apologetically, "Good evening Takeru-san…I hope my sister did not trouble you again today."  
Takeru shook his head and smiled, "Quite the contrary, Takeshi-kun. Hikari and I had fun with her today at that new Kamiyama Amusement Park. She was spent from all the walking and she fell asleep shortly before we left the park. She should be sleeping nice and soundly right about now."  
This made Takeshi wide-eyed, "Kamiyama Amusement Park? You and Hikari-nee took her there? Man…what was she thinking wasting money!" he sighed as he dipped into his pocket to take out his wallet, and took out money to pay Takeru the expenses, but Takeru refused.  
"It's okay really, Takeshi-kun. It was our idea to take her there from the beginning. She seemed like she really wanted to go."  
"I'm really sorry, Takeru-san…" he apologized, and sighed. "When is she going to learn not to bother others?"  
"I assure you it is one hundred percent of our doing. Don't be so harsh on her." Takeru explained, then turning stern. "On the other hand, Takeshi-kun, it is not nice to break promises."  
"What promise?" Takeshi looked confused.  
"The one you made to Minako-chan…that you'd go with her to Kamiyama today, remember?"  
"…Mmh…" the younger blonde searched his head hard and deeply, but could not seem to remember. "Maybe, but I don't remember making such promises, especially not for this week. Not when I can get more hours at the store!"  
"Well, in any case, you should spend less time worrying about your job and spend more time with your sister. Minako's been quite lonely without you around."  
"But I need to work! I'm sure she will understand how important it is."  
Seeing that Takeshi not relenting his workaholic nature, Takeru sighed, "Take this to heart, Takeshi-kun. Minako-chan is your family, and she should always come first before anything. Don't realize this too late, otherwise you may find her a stranger before you know it."  
Now, there are many things that Takehara Takeshi hates in this world, and one of them is being lectured on the importance of family. In a tired and easily irritated state he was right now, he was twice more annoyed, and thus a few times more angry, "What the hell do _you_ know, Takeru-san! Try seeing things in _my_ shoes first before preaching at me! Don't give me that when you haven't got a clue how tough it is without having parents! _Now_ if you'll _excuse_ me, I have better things to do than talking to _you_ right now!" Takeshi snapped and was about to storm pass him before he felt a strong grip on his shoulder restricting his advance.  
"Takeshi-kun…" Takeru started, calm despite the younger blonde's spiteful words. "Calm down…I wasn't trying to lecture to you. I apologize for sticking my nose into your business but…the way you're treating Minako-chan…as a brother, is not right! Even you should have realized how lonely Minako-chan is when you're not around!"  
Takeshi turned his head around and stared straight into Takeru's eyes, the younger blonde's emerald green firmly against the older blonde's cerulean blue. "What I do is none of your business, Takeru-san. Like I said before Minako should be big enough to understand my reasons, and if she doesn't then she's too spoiled. But regardless my family affairs have nothing to do with you," Takeshi retorted indignantly.  
Takeru sighed at his remark, "I hope these are just angry words, Takeshi-kun. Otherwise you will regret it, sooner or later," with that the older teen loosened his grip and retrieved his hand from Takeshi's shoulder. Once freed, the younger blonde turned around and strode toward his room, disappearing down the hallway. Takeru scratched his head and sighed yet again.  
"What's happened, Takeru-kun? I just passed by Takeshi, and he seemed pretty upset," said the innkeeper Yagami Hikari, who appeared from down the hallway and was walking toward Takeru's direction. She carried in her arms a big basket of dirty laundry.  
"It seems I was scolded, for sticking my nose into what is none of my business," Taker chuckled, confessing to her. "I was going to convince Takeshi-kun to spend more time with Minako-chan from now on…but somewhere along the way I screwed up and made him mad."  
"Well, whatever you did, it sure angered him quite a bit. But knowing him it's nothing to worry about. Takeshi's a good kid, and he'll come apologize to you in no time."  
"I rather him take my words to heart than apologizing to me. I wonder if there'll be someone who can show him the importance of sibling bonds?"  
"That person would be you, Takeru-kun. You're the only one here that is a brother to a younger sister, after all," Hikari said.  
"I thought I was that person too, but seeing how I had just messed up big time, I'm not so sure anymore," the spectacled blonde regretted not handling this matter in a more delicate way.  
"If only you're sister were here, then she can tell Takeshi-kun about your experiences without upsetting him perhaps."  
_The chances of that happening are zero to none.__ She's too good of a mage to be assigned to this place…_Takeru thought to himself. "Well, in any case, let's hope for the best. By the way do you need some help with that?" he pointed to the basket in Hikari's arms.  
"Ah, no, that's okay. There are some of my 'personal items' in here anyways." Hikari kindly rejected his offer.  
"Okay, if you're sure. Good night then, Hikari."  
"Mmh…good night!"

The two parted ways, Hikari headed for the laundry room while Takeru his bedroom. Upon reaching his domain the seventeen-year-old blonde changed into his pajamas, spread out his futon, and covered himself with his blanked as he lied down. With the problems of the Takeharas siblings still fumbling in his head, he pondered on them for a while before finally drifting into sleep.


	13. Dream and What She Desires

Room eight of the Yagami Inn was surprisingly quiet when Takehara Takeshi walked through its door. A certain young blonde girl didn't jump up and dart to his side to greet him tonight. Instead, the room was dark and still. Few rays of moonlight and the city lights below the hill pierced through the window drapes that were shut for the night, and weakly illuminated the porcelain-like skin of the sleeping face of Takeshi's six-year-old sister. Seeing Minako asleep, he closed the door ever so gently, even while his mind still raged with anger at the seventeen-year-old British tenant of room four. He was extremely insulted by Takeru's words, and thought that he had no right, even if he was his senior by six years, to chastise him about the importance of family. Takeshi felt he knew better than anyone about the importance of family, especially when only one was all he had left. _Why can't he see that is the reason why he worked hard!_ he thought bitterly. The youngster had always deemed his workaholic nature essential given his situation. It was only a few years ago that the Takehara siblings were still residing at the orphanage. The caretakers at the orphanage loved and cared greatly for the children, but they can only do so much, and cannot always be around to tend to the siblings' every needs. Thus the young blonde boy took up the responsibility to care for his infant sister most of the time as they were growing up, and at a very early age was exposed to the worries that a young child should not have to face. But no matter how heavy the burden, he never complained. Minako was his only family and he would do anything for her, even if it meant sacrificing his own youth and the happiness he deserves. He _needed_ to do this, for their sake.

Therefore, he could not help but become mad when Takeru trivialized his efforts and told him that he was not being there for his sister. _What does he know about taking care of a younger sibling?_Takeshi thought. _I spent all my hours away every single day just to provide for her.__ Isn't that enough?_ What he had yet to realize was that just as Takeru had said, he was not taking his sister's feelings into calculation. He had always believed, or rather forced himself to believe, that Minako was happy and satisfied just to have good food to eat and a roof over their heads, and that she was old enough to be understanding. Hikari's their acting guardian, yes, but that did not mean they could force every single problem onto her. She had done enough for them, letting them stay at this wonderful inn free of charge. It would be unreasonable to ask for anything more from her. There was a limit to how much generosity you can receive without paying back, after all.

The many thoughts and emotions crowded the young boy's mind and soon resulted in a headache. He shook his head forcefully to clear his mind and proceeded across the room. As he walked past the peacefully resting Minako, he noticed that she had on her face a blissful smile. Now, that did not meant he had never seen her smiled in her sleep before, but that night Takeru's admonishments resounded in the eleven-year-old blonde's mind. That forced him, however unwilling, to see things a little different from before. Takeru's words had drilled into his head doubts. Doubts that what he believed to be the best course for his family was in fact driving it apart little by little. The foundation of his beliefs was shaken, and it bothered the eleven-year-old greatly.

He knelt down to tuck in his sister's exposed limbs, and brushed away the stray hairs from her now closed emerald eyes. Minako fidgeted a little at his touch, before shifting her position closer to him to get more comfortable, muttering some gibberish that Takeshi translated as "Onii-chan," before becoming still again. The older Takehara sibling chuckled quietly, and rose to change into his pajamas. He then took out his futon set from the closet, and made his bed to the left of Minako. When he lay down and covered himself, he did not fall asleep right away, as his mind was still on what Takeishi Takeru had said. Having the stormy waves of anger and resentment in his head incrementally calmed by the imminent drowsiness, he now reflected more clearly on the whole ordeal, and realized that the older teen had, in fact, done no wrong after all. In fact, he was genuinely concerned for his sister's and his well-being and only wished the best for the both of them. He sighed painfully at that thought, ashamed that he had let his fatigue, emotion, and frustration get the best of him. _I messed up, didn't I…p__erhaps I'm not as mature as I believed myself to be…_he reflected, before having his trail of thoughts disrupted by a sudden tugging on his arm. Apparently Minako had shifted position again, and this time she rolled out of her beddings to his side and locked her two arms together with his left one. Takeshi turned to see her innocent face, full of bliss, with a thin line of drool trailing from her lips. Seeing this and hearing her slow, steady breathing, he gave up trying to decide whether he was right or wrong and covered both of them with his comforter, and soon fell into slumber.

Everything was white. Everything was still. Everything was nothing, for as far as the eyes go. In midst of this nothingness stood Takeshi, who slowly opened his eyes of emerald to find the strange land before him. "Where am I?" he muttered, lost as to where he was. He turned around and around again, but only saw the nothingness extend to the far horizons. That is, if there were any at all. He felt a chill in his heart, and grew anxious as he peers into the nothing. "Hello? Is there anybody here?" he called out into the nothingness, his words echoing far and wide until the world was still again. Hearing no response, Takeshi was about to call out a second time when in a distance not too far away from where he stood, a figure slowly phased into being, as if warped into existence. The figure was at first blurry, and had her back turned to him, but Takeshi made it out to be a slender young woman that he estimated to be in her early twenties. She had unbraided fuchsia hair that flowed past her waist, and wore a simple white ankle-length dress.

The young boy was elated to find company in this weird, empty space, and proceeded to walk toward her. But somehow, the more he walked toward her, the further away she became. Even though she had not taken one step from where she stood, the woman seemed to move farther and farther away. He hastened his steps, but the distance between them never shortened, as if they are on two opposite shores of a river he couldn't cross. Soon he broke into full sprint, reaching out his hand and calling to her. Hearing his calling, she slowly turned to face him. When their eyes met, Takeshi was washed with disbelief, and froze in his tracks. This sudden deceleration caused him to lose his balance and tumble forward. But he felt no pain when his face hit the ground. He felt only a familiar sorrow as he lifted his head to connect his eyes to hers again. He could not again break gaze with her eyes, with the pair of gentle emerald colored eyes which he had so adored and loved that now looked directly at his own.  
"…it's not possible…" Takeshi muttered to himself, still entranced with disbelief.  
The young fuchsia-haired woman said nothing, but only smiled at him. But she needed not say anything. _As long as she's here…as long as she's here, I…_the boy felt warmth on his cheeks. Two streams of tears fell from his now wet eyes. Her smile had filled him with warm nostalgia, with feelings long sealed away deep within his heart. And now, seeing her smile once again, the imprisoned emotions unleashed en masse, reducing him into tears. Tears which he had not shed since the day he saw her last, since the day she left them.

After what felt like an eternity of eye contact and free-running tears, Takeshi realized he must be making a fool of himself. He quickly brought his arms up and wiped dry his eyes, before reopening them again, only to find that the fuchsia-haired woman had vanished, and the white world before him was suddenly engulfed by red darkness. He now stood among a series of burning buildings and people escaping the flames. Conflagration roamed freely and reduced the support beams to cinders, causing multiple buildings to collapse. But what concerned him more was that the scene seemed vaguely familiar. Hot ashes were tossed into the atmosphere, and unlike before when he fell he could now feel the oppressive sensation of the red flames. He started walking, ignoring and being ignored by the fleeing populace, and letting his feet take him through the familiar pathways until he arrived in front of an already collapsed structure. "I know this place…" the blonde muttered to himself, before catching a familiar color in the corner of his eyes as someone ran past him. The flames had given a red hue to it, but Takeshi could never mistake the flowing, fuchsia hair. He turned around quickly and saw her again. In her right arm was a sleeping baby, fully wrapped excluding the face in a red, wet cloth. Occupying her other hand was a very young, blonde boy, around the age of four or five. The three fled through the heated streets with the other evacuees. Takeshi wasted no time to call out to and chased after them. But unlike before, the woman did not seem to notice him at all. In fact, none of the people seems to realize he's there, as if he did not exist. But Takeshi cared not, and stayed his focus only on the three. He followed them and the stream of people toward the village gate.

Then everything came to a halt suddenly. The fleeing populace was obstructed, and Takeshi soon found out why. He heard it, a series of roars and howls that thundered through the blazing sky. The evacuees turned around and around, trying to determine the source of the noises. What they had not expected were the sickening carnage that next befallen them, the pachyderm feet which shook the earth violently with each step, and the blood which bathed the sky red along with the flames. Horror-filled wails and screams rivaled the cries of the behemoth monsters that had been warped into existence and now tore loose through the blazing town, gobbling up unfortunate residents with their salivated mouths and obliterating everything and everyone in their paths. Takeshi tried with all his might to fight through the panicking mob as people flooded past his sides to escape the demons' advance, and searched desperately for the fuchsia-haired women. When his way was finally cleared he saw her standing her ground against the encroaching monsters. The golden-haired boy was holding on to the baby wrapped in red and inside a dome of protective light, slamming his small fist at the barrier and desperately calling out to the woman. The fuchsia-haired woman turned for one last time to look at the children, and smiled lovingly at them as she had to Takeshi. Her body began to glow with green light as a green eight-pointed magic circle (a/n: same design as Takeru's magic circle) burst into life beneath her feet. Then the light shone brighter and eventually engulfed everything in its path. Takeshi held opened his eyes for as long as possible, reaching out and calling to the woman, but finally gave to natural instinct and shut his eyes to the blinding light.

The next time he opened his eyes Takeshi was back in his room. The moon had set, but dawn had yet to come, and everything still covered in darkness. The small amount of city lights that remain lit throughout the night shone through the window drapes, dimly illuminating the room. Takeshi felt slightly nauseated as he sat himself up. To his astonishment, his cheek felt wet and his eyes streaming with tears. As he wiped them away with the hem of his sleeves he tried hard to think back at why he cried. His heart felt sate and jubilated, but it also felt terror and sorrow. Quite confused at the paradox, he dug through his mind for the dream, but to no avail. Giving up, he then turned his head around to look at the clock. It read four a.m., time for him to get ready before he goes to work. He quickly but silently raised himself up, took some clean clothes, and headed for the shower room, covering Minako up properly in her quilt before leaving.

Hot streams fell upon his face and body, delivering their soothing effect. The blonde eleven-year-old purged his mind of all thoughts as he stood in the shower, letting the water calm him. He took longer than usual, as he relished this moment of blissful ignorance, and stepped out of the shower with a refreshed mind and body. After wiping himself dry with a towel, he put on his fresh clothes, and proceeded to the kitchen. And, like every other day, the kitchen light was turned on. Sizzling sound could be heard as Yagami Hikari cracked an egg onto the frying pan. As Takeshi walked into the room she turned around to greet him, "Ah…Takeshi-kun, you're up later than usual."  
"Good morning, Hikari-nee," he greeted her and took a seat at the kitchen table. In front of him laid a bowl of rice and a couple of side dishes. "You don't have to do this every day you know. A slice of toast with butter spread will be just fine."  
"A slice of toast won't fill you up properly, and you won't have any food until lunchtime," she stated firmly. "As your acting guardian I will not tolerate malnutrition."  
Hearing this, Takeshi stopped complaining, and began eating the food she had prepared. _As always it's delicious,_ he thought. Hikari then placed the fried egg into Takeshi's bowl, put the cooking utensils into the sink, and proceeded to put a kettle filled with water onto the flame. Having finished, the young manager settled in a seat across from him and watched as he ate, noticing that he seemed a little more tired than usual. "You had trouble sleeping last night?" the sepia-haired sixteen-year-old asked.  
Takeshi looked up from his bowl, surprised as to how she found out. "Yeah…it seemed that I had quite a dream, or should I say nightmare, last night. But when I woke up I couldn't remember anything at all," he answered her, but intentionally leaving out the part about the tears. He didn't want to seem weak, but more importantly he didn't want Hikari to worry about something trivial.  
"Ara…Takeshi-kun's nightmare. I wonder what it was? Probably something about being fired on the job," Hikari silently muttered to herself nonchalantly, but not loud enough for the blonde boy to hear. Seeing Hikari wasn't going to pursue on the subject, Takeshi returned to his bowl. It was silence for the rest of the meal as Hikari continued to observe him, making sure he ate everything that was in front of him.  
"Thanks for the food…" said the eleven-year-old after finishing his meal. He stacked the plates together and brought them to the sink, then was about to proceed out of the door before Hikari stopped him. "What's the rush, Takeshi-kun? It's not even six yet." she said, smiling. "Why don't you come sit back down and…chat with me a little?"  
Takeshi turned around, and although unwilling, he sat back down. "What do you want to talk about, Hikari-nee?"  
The young innkeeper pondered for a bit at what she was going to say. Then, putting it in the most concise way, she asked, "Are you happy, Takeshi-kun?"  
"Heh?" he responded, bewildered at her inquiry. "What do you mean, am I happy?"  
"It's exactly what it means."  
Takeshi, unsure as to how to answer her, stayed silent. Seeing that he's not going to say anything, Hikari spoke again. "Let me put it this way. Your living at the Yagami inn, going to school, working for Tanaka-san at the grocery store, etc. The life that you now have…are you happy with it?"  
"Um…I'm still not quite sure as to what you're asking, but I can tell you with confidence that yes, I _am_ happy with the life I lead now," Takeshi answered.  
"Then…in your perspective, does Minako-chan also feel the same way?"  
"Well…I suppose. I mean, she doesn't have any reason not…" he stopped short, sensing where the conversation was heading. "…did Takeru-san put you up for this?"  
"No one asked me to. It is something I've wanted to ask you for a long time. Takeru-kun just beat me to it," Hikari stated.  
"Are you going to lecture at me too, Hikari-nee?" asked the eleven-year-old blonde defensively. He was clearly offended, but did not use the tone that he had with Takeru last night. After all, Hikari was his guardian as well as benefactor.  
Hikari smiled, "I'm not going to, and don't plan to. I simply want you to be aware of your little sister's feelings."  
"Like I said before, I think I understand that better than anyone else."  
"But do you really? Not to offend you in any way, but yesterday's trip to Kamiyama had shown me otherwise."  
Takeshi was shocked with disbelief that Hikari would doubt him. She was one of few people that he held unquestioned respect for, and thus her judgment weighed heavily upon him. He was left speechless, and his mind again raged with reflections upon reflections on this issue on Minako's feelings. Where exactly had it gone wrong? He had cared for his sister, to the point of sacrificing his own happiness for her sake. He believed that as long as Minako was happy, he too was happy. But now even Hikari, who he held in the highest regard, was telling him that it was in fact quite the opposite.

The ringing of the water kettle broke the silence between the two. Hikari stood up to turned off the flame, and produced two earthenware teacups and a can of tea leaves from the cabinet. She then sat the two cups on the table, added some tea leaves, and poured the boiling water into them, allowing them to sit for a bit before placing one of them in front of the blonde boy. Takeshi instinctively reached for the cup and sipped the liquid, which filled his mouth and poured quickly through his systems, warming up his body and heart. Hikari likewise did so after setting the kettle back onto the stove. "Now, Takeshi-kun. I want you to tell me honestly. Do you feel that Minako-chan's happy?" she asked gently, keeping it concise to not upset the already confused eleven-year-old.  
With the introduction of another inquiry, Takeshi pondered on it for a while before replying, "I…honestly don't know anymore, Hikari-nee. For a long time I had believed that she was content with our situation, especially after you took us in. As long as Minako was happy…I will sacrifice anything. So why do both you and Takeru-san say that I didn't put Minako's interest before my own?"  
Hikari sighed, "As long as you can't find the answer to that question, you won't see why your sister's not happy. Takeshi-kun, you ask me why Takeru-kun and I say that you don't put Minako's interests before your own. Can you tell me what are your own interests?"  
"That shouldn't require any thinking at all. Minako's well-being and happiness are my interests. That's why I need to work! Why can't the two of you see that?" he replied, a little annoyed and frustrated.  
"Then can you tell me what are Minako's interests?"  
"Of course, it's…" Takeshi started, but soon found his mouth unable to produce an answer. This surprised him, and he frantically searched his mind for the answer, but found none.  
Hikari looked at him earnestly, "That's what Takeru-kun meant when he said you don't put Minako-chan first. You were too busy concerning yourself with her needs and well-being. While the intentions are certainly noble, during the process you ignored what she truly wants, and needs, more than having good food and living in a good home."  
Takeshi was surprised, "I…had never considered Minako's interests? …then, what is it that she really wants?"  
"I don't have any siblings, so I can't say this for sure. But Takeru-kun also has a little sister, and he told me this. After hearing what he said, I realized it was really simple. So simple that anyone should be able to figure it out."  
"So what is it?"  
"What Minako wants…is for _you_ to be happy, Takeshi-kun," Hikari said, with a warm smile.  
"She wants me…to be happy?" Takeshi muttered, incredulous at the simplicity of the answer.  
"Yes. While you were thinking about Minako's welfare, at the same time she is also thinking about yours. The feeling's mutual. You've always said Minako's should be old enough to be understanding of your situation, and indeed she is. She is old enough to be aware of the needs of others, starting with the closest, which is you. As much as you try to hide your unhappiness in front of her, Takeshi-kun, she notices. And the longer you estrange her, the worse it will get. Until finally, she can no longer feel connected to you."  
"But…even so, it's necessary…" Takeshi started.  
Hikari quickly cut him off, "You've gotten your priorities backward, Takeshi-kun. What comes first isn't to earn money, but to care for your sister. Minako's the reason why you work so hard, right? But your hard work isn't what she truly needs."  
"Then…was my hard work all for naught?"  
"I never said that. I…we all respect and admire your decision to assume all the duties in caring for Minako at such tender age, and you do have the right and responsibility. But don't you think your overdoing it? What will all those money you've earned be for if in the end, you lose the one thing that is most precious to you?"

Takeshi took another sip of the tea, and set the cup on the desk. Sadness at his neglect of his sister's feelings was starting to get to him. "I…don't want to lose her, Hikari-nee…but at the same time I don't want her to feel deprived…"  
"She has everything she needs, Takeshi-kun. The only thing she's deprived of…is you. Do you know that even though Takeru-kun and I tried to fill the void yesterday, the one she truly wanted to be with at that park was you?"  
With that Takeshi could no longer hold it in. For the second time today tears, like water rushing through a hole in a dam, fell from his eyes. He cried, harder than ever, his unhappiness and sadness sealed away by a barrier known as responsibility finally emerged from deep within his heart. He tried to stop them, but they continued to fell, faster than he could wipe them away.

Hikari stood up slowly and walked next to Takeshi. "It will be alright now, Takeshi-kun. It'll be alright. Since you now know what you need to do." She tenderly embraced him from behind, gently cooing assuring words.

Takehara Minako woke up at around ten in the morning, and yawned as she stretched out her limbs. She looked about her sparsely occupied room groggily, and to her surprise saw someone sitting right next to her. Today Takehara Takeshi was here, facing her with a bright smile she had not seen in years. "Onii-chan, aren't you supposed to be at work?" she asked.  
"_You're_ more important," he said simply, and leaned in to hug his little sister, more precious, and more valuable to him, than anything in the world.


	14. Necessary Evil

It was a restless night. Strong winds roared relentlessly in the heavens above and the earth below alike. The stars and moon shone at the mercy of the passing clouds, which revealed or covered their celestial radiance at the will of the howling gales. Thus in one moment Kiromachi below was illuminated, but in another, darkness prevailed. All was at the eight winds' mercy as wave after wave exerted their presences upon this quiet town. It was only May, and the climate had yet assumed true summer pleasantness. The winds' chilling attribute thus caused most of the townsmen to favor the indoors tonight, resulting in the almost non-presence of human activities. Even the strays sought refuge in shelters that barred against the cold. Thus the gale traversed through the deserted streets mostly unhindered as it swept up and displaced dust, leaves, and lighter refuse.

Alone outside, high on top of one of the iron framed commercial boards stood a lonely figure. Judging by the white and red priestess garb this person, she was probably a woman, perhaps of teenage years. Her age could not be immediately determined because of a large, straw hat she wore, which successfully hid the top half of her face in shade. Her loose, holy attire fluttered violently in the winds. A pink, sakura-patterned cloak she wore about her shoulders, which also, due to the gale, waved at the mercy of the cold wind. The gold and silver tassels, adorned to the hilt of her long nodachi resting inside its sheath of black and gold embellishments, also followed suit. There up high she stood, oblivious to the cold. She silently listened, waiting for even the slightest stir and disturbances in the patterns of the wind.

She was not disappointed by her effort, for soon she detected, among the cries of the winds, sounds of chiming bells from the invisible detectors she had laid in preparation beforehand. Having located the position of her designated prey, she slowly parted her thin eyelids, revealing two orbs of deep obsidian shining with youthful eagerness. She wasted no time to look toward the source of the chime, and proceeded leaping gracefully off her observing position, descending to a lower roof. She continued her extraordinary feat of leaping from one building to another, closing in on her target with each leap. Once close, she descended into the streets and caught sight of the demon pursued. It was a weak demon with no definitive shape, existing as a lump of grey matter. Its movement was that of bounces, and when the priestess drew near it increased its pace, only to find that it was still being overtaken by her. Ordinarily adversaries of this stature would not be exorcised by someone of her caliber. However it was ever elusive, having already escaped countless exorcists' pursuit. If allowed time to feed off the spiritual energy of people and animals it possessed, it would definitely become trouble for the non-magical community. Thus, all the way from Kyoto she was sent to pursue it, and tonight she had finally cornered it here. When the priestess deemed her target to be within her range, she materialized in her left hand a yellow charm, and began to chant. The charm immediately burst into life with yellow radiance and aligned itself between its master and her target. Doing a couple hand signs and shooting her right index and middle finger at the charm, she declared "Reidou no Yon, **Ikazuchi! **(Spiritual Art Number Four, **Thunder!**) [霊道の四、**雷****!**]" A single ray of deadly gold extended from the charm and raced straight toward its victim. Upon impact, the attack damaged at and paralyzed the demon for a spell. The priestess took advantage of this and closed in on her adversary, placing it within her sword range.

Unable to escape, the grey matter leaped in for a tackle attack once it regained control of its senses, only to be easily side-stepped by its pursuer. Then, drawing out her long blade, the priestess brought her hand down swiftly and mercilessly in one vertical slash. Sparks flew as metal met the demon's barrier, but its feeble defense was soon split and disintegrated into nothingness. Not allowing her prey another defense or opportunity to escape, she quickly turned her sword around for an uppercut. The attack sliced into the demon's flesh like knife to butter, and it howled in great pain as it witnessed its body severed in half. Due to the purifying effect of the priestess' blade, the severed sections began to whither and disintegrate, turning into thick, black goo.

When the demon was reduced to nothing more than a black puddle, the priestess sighed with relief and placed a red charm into the liquid and chanted. The charm burst into flame and the magical fire produced consumed the demonic residue. "I guess that's it for now," the priestess mumbled absent-mindedly. When the flame died from having no more fuel to burn, she muttered a prayer to the quelling souls and walked into the darkness, disappearing into the night. Unbeknownst to her, however, the charred demonic remains, again, slowly but surely, congregated.

Later that night, an unsuspecting (and quite unfortunate) drunkard, staggering homeward in the cold wind, met, and was consumed whole by the defeated demon…

Next day…

After a full, eventful day of what seemed like endless torture of lectures upon lectures, the much welcomed bell signaling finality to the day at last rang through Kiromachi High. The blonde Takaishi Takeru used this gratifying moment to thoroughly stretch his sore limbs as he prepared to return home. He wouldn't be leaving with either Sakuya or Hikari today. Sakuya was already relocated to another classroom for a retest of last week's quiz, and Hikari…

"Ta~keru~kun!" came the voice of his friend the landlady.

"What's up, Hi~kari~chan?" asked Takeru, matching her enthusiasm. When the spring session began, the trio was relocated to different parts of the classroom as the result of reseating assignments. While Takeru and Sakuya were lucky enough to again have seats near one another, Hikari, to the guy half of the class's content, was reseated to the other side of the classroom. However, it didn't matter where they sat, as the two still continued to spend most of their time in each other's company, whether it is before school, during breaks, or after school. While most had already accepted the transfer student's "special privilege" of Hikari's 'favoritism' so to speak, including the defeated Kimikura Youhei, it did not stem them from throwing him dirty looks and threatening glares to display their dissatisfaction. On the side note, the said captain of the kendo club made a full recovery from the incident after some medical treatment from principal Fujitaka's associates. With his memory modified about the latter half of the kendo challenge, he continued to attend Kiromachi High as an esteemed upperclassman. Now that the demon had been thoroughly exorcised from his body, he regained his composure and had since made peace with the spectacled blonde and his innkeeper. Takeru and Hikari, of course, were not at all hesitant to accept his apologies.

"Nothing much…" But back to the brunette teen, who trailed off mid-sentence after noticing Takeru's always cheerful face filled with latent fatigue. With the still rising rate of demon activities around the region, Takeru and Sakuya's workload rose proportionally. Because of Joe Weatherforth's current absence, Sakuya's father the principal employed the mages' help for nightly patrols, adding more work to their plates. Already running very tight with their available hours because of their "extracurricular activities," the two are finally feeling the weight of their responsibilities. Takeru, in particular, was still inexperienced as a fulltime mage. The double duty of normal and magical life was finally taking a toll. While it showed for Sakuya as a significant decline in her academics, it came as fatigue for the spectacled blonde, who was now averaging only around four hours of sleep as he attempted to keep up with course materials well into the night. It was only due to magic reinforcements that he had not completely collapsed, although he could feel the drain on his physique would overwhelm him sooner or later. Of course, Hikari knew none of this, and assumed he just had a habit of staying up late. "You look even worse than this morning, Takeru-kun. Are you getting enough sleep? You're gonna catch a cold at this rate!" she inquired the welfare of her tenant with care and worry.

"Now that you've mentioned it, I _do_ feel a little cold. Will you hug me so I feel warmer, Hikari?" he joked.

His friend sighed as she parted stray hair from both their forehead and leaned in against his to take his temperature, and while it wasn't what he had asked for, it surely heightened Takeru's body heat by a few good degrees as her ruby red eyes and rosy lips were merely an inch away from his. "Looks like you're fine for now, though you're kind of warm. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Honestly? He felt like he could knock out any minute. But a man's pride prohibited the showing of his weak side. "I'm alright, Hikari. I'm just not over the sleepy attribute of Saginomiya-sensei's lecture." He assured her.

"If you're sure then," she relented, even though she didn't completely buy his façade. "In that case, can you do me a favor?"

"For you, princess, I will rise to the sky to catch even the moon from its cele-"

"Cheap words of flattery will not earn you any points with me, Takeru-kun." She abruptly interrupted him, completely bypassing his farce. But he seized a chance to peek at his tan-haired friend's eyes and to his contentment found sparkles of gratitude despite her words.

"All jokes aside, Hikari, what is it you want me to do?"

"Well you see, today's supposed to be my usual grocery run. But with the intra-prefectural archery competition coming up, the club president, that is Tomoyo-chan, is holding extra mandatory practice. Would you mind just picking up some stuff from the downtown stores for me?" she asked, taking out from her skirt pocket a moderately lengthy list.

"Seems like Sakagami-san's working you and Kamikita-san hard. But…grocery shopping huh? Having a man shop for grocery is kind of…lame, don't you think?"

"It's that so? Sorry, I guess I never thought of it like that," the light of her face darkened a bit from disappointment. "I guess that would be a little weird, wouldn't it? Well that's okay I'll just go aft-" but before she can finish, Takeru's nimble fingers had already snatched the grocery list from her possession.

"Only kidding, Hikari. Of course I'd love to help! After all I can't have you carry all those bags right after practice, let alone let you walk alone after dark."

"Really? Yeah! Thank you so much, Takeru-kun!" Without warning, she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso out of pure bliss. Quickly as she hugged him she let go, leaving him in shock,and a bit disappointed that it didn't last longer. "In return I'll make your favorite tonkatsu tonight 'kay? Ah, look at the time! I'll see you back home then!" And like a whimsical wind she, at top speed, flew out the door to headed to practice, not leaving him time to even say goodbye.

_Exactly where does she get all that energy from? _he wondered as he picked up his packed bag and got ready to leave. _Well, that's one thing everyone loves about her, I guess._ Sensing a sudden increase in the 'atmospheric pressure' in the classroom as result of Hikari's affectionate display, Takeru made haste and left the room.

The Kiromachi downtown district was as busy as any other day. The streets teemed with students, kids, and adults alike, all on the way to their merry business. It was some work to push through the afternoon crowd of people, but not very long did it take him to come in front of the market street entrance. The market street entrance was one of the places Sakuya had shown Takeru on his first days of arrival, and throughout the past few months he had come regularly to look around, either with Hikari or Sakuya, or sometimes both.

"Yo, Takeru-kun! You're here alone today," called out an elderly lady behind a stand filled with vegetable and other produces.

"Good afternoon, Imagawa-san. Just doing a grocery run for Hikari today," the bespectacled blonde respectfully bowed before answering.

"Oh my, what a gentleman! Hikari-chan is sure a lucky girl to have you as a boyfriend."

"I-Imagawa-san! You know we aren't like that!" flustered, Takeru quickly defended himself.

"Ah, it is so good to be young. I can tell from experience that there's no other couple more fitting than you two! Although you also shouldn't leave Sakuya-chan hanging!" The elderly lady stopped at no end to tease her young customer.

Not knowing how to continue without ending the stand's owner's well-natured teasing, Takeru decided that the quickest alternative to end the torment, was to hightail out of here as soon as possible, "Imagawa-san, sorry, I would love to keep chatting but I should probably finish this quickly and head back before it gets late. Can you give me everything that you have on this list?" he handed her the grocery list he obtained from Hikari.

"Ahaha, can't take anymore teasing for the day? Alright, I suppose I can spare you until next time," elderly lady Imagawa chuckled merrily while preparing Takeru's order. When she finished assembling everything in plastic bags she handed them to him. The blonde British in exchange paid for the obtained items and bade farewell to the elderly stand owner.

"Say hi to everyone at the Yagami Inn for me will ya, Takeru-kun?"

"Of course, thanks as always, Imagawa-san! I'll see you next time," and with that he departed.

Takeru's next destination lay near the end of the market street. He stopped in front of a moderate size shop, with a wooden plaque hung high reading "Tanaka Groceries." _Isn't this…where Takeshi-kun works? _he thought to himself.

"Takeru-san!" said a voice as he entered the shop. Takeru's thought was confirmed when eleven-year-old blonde of the Yagami-inn appeared before him. The inside of the shop was well-lighted, with seven rows of shelves that carried dried food, flavorings, snacks, and other edible consumables. Few baskets of fruits and other produce were displayed conveniently next to the entrance for purchase. Takehara Takeshi had emerged from one of the rows, aproned in a green apron a tad big for him with the logo 'Tanaka Groceries' in the front center

"Takeshi-kun, good afternoon. Working hard I see!" smiled the older blonde. Time had passed since their little conflict over Takehara Minako, and the younger blonde had come to sense at last to remedy the situation. He found courage to apologize to Takeru, to find the latter had never held him in any distain, something which Takeshi was mightily grateful.

"Are you coming in place of Hikari-nee, Takeru-san?" asked Takeshi as he tidied up some can goods on the shelf next to them.

"Yeah. On the list she said just give it to one of the workers and they'll help me? I suppose you can take care of it right?"

"Let me see," the eleven-year-old retrieved the long grocery list from Takeru's and perused it for a moment. "I'll give this to Tanaka-san, can you wait for a while?"

"Sure," smile the older blonde. He placed down the bag full of groceries he received from Mrs. Imagawa and swung his tired arm slowly to accentuate blood flow. Moments later Takeshi re-emerged from the back of the store with a middle aged, homely lady of short stature. Her kind, motherly face instantaneously allowed Takeru to feel at ease, as if the store was his own house.

"Takeshi-kun, thank you for your help. I'll take care of things here, so can you go take care of things in the back?" the lady implored. The younger blonde gave a nod before disappearing behind the drapes.

"You must be Takeru-kun! Hikari-chan and Takeshi-kun had told me so much of you. Oh my, please excuse my manners! This will be our first time meeting. My name is Tanaka, this humble store's owner," she bowed.

"Ah, it is _my _pleasure to meet you at last! Thanks for always taking care of our Takeshi-kun," Takeru also bowed in respect to the store owner. "I'm Takaishi, Takaishi Takeru. Please to be able to make acquaintance with you, Tanaka-san."

"Ahaha, Imagawa-san and the others are right, you _are_ a polite one," smiled Mrs. Tanaka. "Hikari-chan sure is a lucky girl, to have you as her friend. I mean, you're even willing to come out of your way to pick up groceries for her." The store owner carried on as she floated from aisle to aisle, picking the needed items off with dexterity that could only be made possible with her extensive familiarity with the shop.

"It really isn't as noble as you make it sound, Tanaka-san. I'm only helping as much as I can. Hikari is busy, after all, with the intra-prefectural archery competition coming up," Takeru said, embarrassed by her exaltation of his otherwise trivial effort.

"It is small things like these that she will take notice, Takeru-kun," commented the shopkeeper merrily. "If you keep it up you'll win her heart in no time."

"Tanaka-san, not you too…" Although he knew they mean no harm, Takeru was a bit tired of the teasing. Sure he liked Hikari, but saw her as nothing more than a friend. That's how he felt, for now anyways, as he didn't even know how she felt about him.

Fortunately, Tanaka-san wasn't as abrasive as Imagawa-san from his first stop. She chuckled as she witnessed the tint of red upon Takeru's cheek, "You must forgive us old ladies for teasing you like this. After all, we all treat Hikari-chan like our own daughter, especially after Susumu-san and Yukiko-chan passed away so suddenly a few years ago. So we all want her to find a man who she can rely on quickly."

Takeru could do nothing but sigh at her words, "I understand but, I don't think I'm qualified to fill in that spot. Besides, surely Hikari has someone that she likes."

Tanaka-san pondered a bit, "Hm…I'm fairly certain that's not so. After all us old ladies watched her grew up, and never before had she shown any interest in that department. Trust my maiden's intuition that she is quite fond of you. Besides, don't you like Hikari-chan too?"

It was a difficult question to answer. He had never seriously given thought on this subject, given that his true objective here was to help combat the rising demon activities in the region. There were moments where she made his heart beat fast, but can that be considered like? Yet he did know that Yagami Hikari was someone with whom he wouldn't mind spending time. No, perhaps that was an understatement. He loved being around the brunette innkeeper. Now that he, for the first time, pondered on this question. When they are together, she always makes him feel unexplainably comfortable and natural, almost as if they had known each other for not a few months, but years. Is it something equal to, or perhaps surpassing, his relationship with Ricameia Hallows, he does not know. But he does know that he cannot deny the fact that he felt something special for the girl, ever since she led him up the stone steps of Yagami Inn for the first time. Is it friendship or love however, one may wonder. Feelings, after all, are a complex matter.

"I do like her, Tanaka-san. But I don't know if it's as friends or more. For now, though, I am content with being her friend." That was the conclusion at which the spectacled blonde arrived.

His response seemed to have satisfied the elder lady, too. "That is a mature answer. Unclear, but true to your heart," she said as she handed him yet another bag of groceries, which he took in his free hand after he had picked up the previous one. "Don't worry about the payment. I'll get it from Hikari-chan next time. Have a safe walk back, and say hi to everyone at the inn for me." Tanaka-san said with a warm smile. Takeru wished that Imagawa-san and the others were more like her as he bade farewell to the kind shopkeeper.

Once emerged from the little store, Takeru could see that it had become quite late. The sun had already slid low in the western sky, and the surrounding environs basked in reddish hue. _Hikari and Sakuya should be home by now,_ he absentmindedly thought as he traversed toward the exit. Once out, he headed for the bus stop, which would take him from the downtown district back to the foot of the hill that where the residential area began. _Ah, I can't wait for Hikari's tonkatsu…_ he salivated at the prospect of the young innkeeper's homemade fried pork chop. His daydream was cut short, however, when he felt a sudden thumping sensation upon his chest. He quickly came back down to earth, and saw before him was a girl in…priestess garb? Apparently he had knocked her down by accident.

"Ah, I'm really sorry miss. Are you ok?" the bespectacled blonde apologized as he shifted the bag on his right hand to his left, allowing him to offer the now free hand to the fallen girl. "Let me help you up."

"Oh my, I'm quite alright. It was my own fault for daydreaming in this kind of crowd," said the girl as she accepted his hand. Once she was back on her feet, Takeru observed her to be of short stature, perhaps a head and a half shorter than he is. The straw hat on her head hid her hair and eyes from his sight, but it's not like he needs to see them anyways. What caught his eyes though, was the long, thin satchel she held in her left hand. _Is that…a katana?_ The blonde wondered, having deduced it to be a Japanese long sword from his familiarity with his father's collections back in Edinburgh.

"So miss, if you don't mind me asking. Are you on your way to a photo shoot or film with that outfit? It's just that I've never seen anyone where that kind of clothes outside of shrines before," asked the blonde foreign exchange student, interest piqued by her eye-catching clothing.

She chuckled with bemusement, "Would you believe me if I say this is my regular clothing?"

"Possibly, if you are of priestess profession. Are you though?"

"Of sort, I suppose," she said simply without clarification before continuing. "By the way, kind sir, would you happen to know where the Yagami Inn is located? I'm afraid to say that I'm not quite familiar with the area."

"Yagami Inn? Sure I do. As a matter of fact I live there. But what business would you have there?" replied the bespectacled blonde.

"Well-" she was about to say when a powerful sensation gushed in from behind her. Something, unfortunately, only Takeru felt. His sudden change in facial expression alarmed the young lady before him. "Is something the matter?"

Takeru was rendered speechless by the close proximity of the incoming wave of magical pressure. _Hold on…it's going to appear here? That's not good!_ His brain wracked with distress and panic signals, Takeru was paralyzed for a good few seconds before his regained composure. "Sorry for the suddenness, miss, but I have an urgent errand I need to run to really quick. Can…can you hold on to these for the time being and we'll meet back here in an hour? Thanks!" And, not waiting for her response, he stuffed his bags full of groceries into her hands and took off without looking back, despite the priestess's words of confusion. Unknown to Takeru however, when he had put a good distance between them, the girl turned around and grinned as she disappeared into the sea of people.

Once he found and entered a little dark alleyway devoid of signs of life, Takeru raised Raging Gale up and geared for the imminent advent of the demon. With a quick flash of blinding golden light the bespectacled blonde was fitted in his usual green and brown medley. With his jeweled long staff firm in his right hand he lifted his left and casted the magical force field which deters sightings of magic activities by those without magic potentials, except this time he added a formula for time-space dislocation as well, given the place where the battle was to ensue _was_ the center of the downtown filled with countless innocents unaware of the danger they now face. Having secured the area, he then he quickly took to the air with his Seraphim's Wings at his heels and scanned the immediate surrounding for the magic signature of the pressure. It came from his left. A white wolf-like beast of around seven-story height was just phasing into being. _Damn…he already materialized…can I do this without Sakuya's help? No…I can't doubt myself. I have to stop it here and now!_ In his little short reverie the demon had notice his presence and was already advancing toward him, toppling buildings in the wake of his charge. Takeru whipped his left hand to his side and conjured twenty orbs of golden light to his side, which he then shot forward like arrows at his adversaries. But the agile wolf sidestepped his twenty magic arrows of light with ease, and proceeded with his charge. Little did it know it was but a ruse, and Takeru then quickly ordered the rays of gold to loop back and struck his enemy from its behind. Though it successfully again to avoid any critical blows, Takeru succeeded in sending several arrows to cut deep into the flesh of the beast's hind legs, momentarily halting its advance as the pain caused it to lose balance. Takeru wasted not a single second to execute his next move. "Magic Shooter, Wind Restraint! Twenty arrows of wind, **Restrict Lock**!" Twenty binds of wind emerged as the spellcaster's circle erupted from beneath the beast. They proceeded to lock it solidly in place even as it struggled and howled. Though, with every struggle Takeru felt shocks pulsating through his magical circuits notifying him the binds were probably insufficient to hold it there for an extended amount of time.

But that was not a problem to him, so long as they bought enough time for the next phase of his attack. "Altresaz le Maestra! Forty spirits of light from the starry sky, gather thy light in the heavens above, and descend on to earth below in swift obliteration! **Starlight Descent!**" With the spell uttered from his lips, forty rather sizable spheres of gold materialized above the bespectacled blonde and launched a ten consecutive barrage upon their victim. Takeru winced at the mana drain this spell tolled on his body, but thought that this attack was probably sufficient in incapacitate his foe, if not utterly obliterate it to smithereens. _I have to thank Mo-chan for teaching me this spell,_ he thought with satisfaction. Interestingly enough most of the attack spells in Takeru's arsenal was formulated first by his younger sister Mogusaki Takaishi, a prodigy in magical theory, calculation for precise mana consumption, and many other fields. During past summer vacations the bespectacled blonde would occasionally test (in other words, her guinea pig for) Mogusaki's new magic formulas for mana manipulations, some of which Takeru then polish anew. More complex spells like the Divine Buster and others which require longer arias all owed their base formulas to his bright sister's calculations, though this one, the Starlight Descent, was exclusively her creation. Quick with devastating effects and only requiring a short incantation and cast time, it was perfect for immobilizing opponents quickly. This was its first time being used in actual combat effectively.

His congratulations would have to wait, however, as a loud howl reached the skies when the smoke began to clear. Takeru was taken aback when he saw his opponent was still very much at battle readiness, albeit a bit roughed up by his attack.

_This attack is perfect for launching a surprise attack on the opponent, who probably would not have time to put up any defense. However, if by an off-chance the opponent is able to put up even a shield, then this attack becomes merely a minute annoyance as it lacks the time to condense mana to pierce effectively. _Such was the analysis that Mogusaki had reached during their tests, and apparently was the case for this situation. The demon had successfully in either steeling his body against the attack or summoned a shield for deflection. Which was what had happened Takeru did not know, but it probably didn't matter because with the restraint now loose the white wolf with one leap took to the air in his direction. Its fangs of death protruded from its mouth as Takeru quickly conjured a round shield to deny its path. The weak makeshift defense quickly crumbled, but had allowed the blonde enough time to draw Rengetsu. Gold steel locked with the demon's fangs as he was propelled back midair by the leap's sheer momentum.

_If the attacks can't get through his hide, then how about this!_ With this thought, Rengetsu's body began to glow with a golden light. "Soutenmeitsukiryuu Kai, Ichi no Tachi, **Getsuga!** [蒼天明月流改、一の太刀、**月牙！**] (Style of Azure Sky, Bright Moon Custom, First Blade, **Crescent!**)" To the best of his ability, Takeru swung the golden blade forward. The aura left the blade in a crescent shape and poured into the beast's mouth. Fangs loosened as the attack's power forced it back toward the earth with undeniable force, wreaking havoc on the vulnerable innards unprotected by its thick hide. Once on the ground, the silver wolf tried as it may to return onto its feet, but found its strength lacking and growled in pain from the immense damage it took. Seeing his adversary unable to continue resistance, the spectacled blonde landed next to it and sighed with relieve before raising his hand to summon enough mana for a last hit.

"Altresaz le Maestra. Light of destruction which vanquishes my foe, I summon thee from afar, from the heavens above. Stars, gather and transform into the light which pierces through all. Scorch the earth with divine righteousness!" With his words, thousands of light particles began to gather in the sky above. Extricating every ounce of residual magic in the vicinity, the spell grew into a very sizable orb which radiated outward with blinding gold light. As the sphere absorbed more magical energy, it grew even larger in dimension.

"Tear through all, blazing light, and impale through all defense! Overture, **Excelion B-**"

But before the spell was declared, a faint tint flashed in the corner of Takeru's eyes. Sense of danger forced the blonde mage to withdraw his command on the spell to dodge.

While it was very wasteful to let all the gathered mana to dissipate wastefully into the atmosphere, it was the right decision. As soon after he cleared from the position, vertical silvery flash filled the recently vacated spot.

"What the-" but before he could mutter out another word, Takeru quickly fell back to prevent his torso from being opened into two. He did caught sight of the source of danger, however. A mixture of red and white filled his vision as he somersaulted backwards and once on his feet, brought up Rengetsu to intercept the next attack. Two blades deadlocked and yellow sparks flew from the impact. The bespectacled blonde realized his new opponent was…

"It's _you_…why are you doing this?"

The girl in front of him giggled playfully, "Why, I can't have you beat up on my pet like that, can't I?"

"Your what?" Takeru asked. But without answering him, the straw-hat priestess jumped back from the deadlock and launched a vertical pierce. Takeru brought his own blade up and on the mark parried the girl's katana upward, causing her to momentarily lose balance. Takeru seized this chance to, with his left elbow extending, dash forward attempting to strike at her stomach. But the priestess recollected herself faster than he imagined, and blocked his attack with her free hand and exclaimed, "Reidou no Jyuu, **Hatenrai [**霊道の十, 破天雷**] **(Spiritual Art Number Ten, Sky-Shattering Thunder)!" Her palm connecting with Takeru's elbow grew exceedingly yellow, before long an overwhelming force pushed him away as shocks ran up his arm, momentarily disabling any action and leading him to loosen his grip on Rengetsu as he fell a foot away with back against ground.

"This…is…reidou…? But…how?" Takeru staggered out as he fought against the tingling sensation which rendered him immobile. The priestess in red and white used this chance to walk to his side, and pointed her blade at the blonde's throat.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk…is this all you've got? I'm disappointed, western mage-san. I thought you would prove to be more of a challenge than this," she taunted. "Though, I have to give you props on being able to defeat my shikigami, as he is one of the strongest guardians I possess."

"Cursed…who _are_ you, and why are you doing this?" asked the bespectacled blonde, trying to buy as much time as possible from his imminent end.

To this the girl again giggled, "Why, are you asking for mercy? That tone isn't fitting with a person who's begging for his life."

"I'm not…begging for anything. Not from someone…who would attack people from behind…" Takeru accused, and he would back up his words if strength in his body would just recuperate faster.

"Ahaha, sounds to me you're indignant. But what can I say? All is fair in love and war, is it not? A loser should just accept his fate and accept his lot, wouldn't you say so?"

"Strength…is for protecting the weak…not exploiting them!"

Again the priestess laughed at his remark, "Those words lack strength coming from the one who cannot defend himself properly. They are just excuses the weak use to place chains of burden on the strong. In other words, it is absolutely meaningless to those with real power."

"…" Takeru's inability to reason with her left him speechless.

"Looks like you understand this logic too. Well, it's been fun, western mage-san, but this will be where we part ways. Good bye, for eternity," and even as her hands thrust forward, her smile was unchanging. Cold steel protruded the blonde mage's throat as red blood met the black earth. Everything then went dark as Takeru's body staggered for a bit, before finally rested lifelessly. The straw-hat priestess, having taken the life of her opponent, indulged herself in malicious laughter. So ends, the adventure of the Takaishi Takeru.

If only it were that simple. Cold sensation beside her exposed neck abruptly ended her laughing frenzy, and when she tilted her head to see the source of this new development, she observed what now threatening her life was the same golden blade which moments before had lay silently on the ground, a good distance from where they now were.

"That was a close call, and quite honestly, would have been brutally painful," said a voice, which not long ago had filled the priestess' ears, and out of all things in the world not what she had expected.

"You…how did you…"

Takeru chuckled at her now trembling words, "Soutenmeitsukiryuu, jyuu no tachi, **Shimotsuki** [蒼天明月流、十の太刀、**霜月**] (Style of Azure Sky, Bright Moon, Tenth Blade, **Frost Moon**). This attack uses mana to crystalize all water particles surrounding the user, and they then distort light to cast mirage or simply hide the presence of the user. What you had, for a lack of better words, mutilated, was an alchemic substitute, a soulless homunculus, given to me by my sister's friend Iris before I left the British Isles."

"Homon…culus?"

"In other words, artificial human being, and it is the epitome of alchemy, since only those with extraordinary talents in many fields of magical realm can ever create this," the bespectacled blonde explained, not allowing even a moment's rest at holding his opposition at his mercy. From what he had observed within the safety of the mirage mist that the slightest wiggle room will be a giveaway for her, and he really possessed neither the mana nor the confidence to again retake the position of strength.

"Wahaha…it seems I've been completely outwitted," she laughed easily. Though her life now hanged by the thread in the reversal of fortune, the priestess was quite calm and nonchalant to the cold metal next to her exposed neck. "Should we, make a deal then?"

"What sort of deal?" the blonde questioned flatly, wonder what sort of trick she had up her sleeves this time.

"Let's see…how about this? In exchange for letting me go free, I'll spare your life?" she suggested smugly.

Takeru resisted the temptation to drive his blade through her exposed flesh right this instant. Either she's foolishly confident in her own abilities, or just completely nuts. The spectacled blonde at the moment leaned toward the latter.

"That's the most outrageous proposal I have ever heard in my entire life! Do you not have any idea of the circumstances right now?"

Hearing his retort, the priestess laughed with condescension for a good while before continuing, "I think you're the one who doesn't understand. You, should be nearly out of mana by now, correct?"

Her remark sent nervous shocks throughout his entire body, "And what of it?" Takeru tried his best to hide any discomfort.

"This force field which we're in…it's running on your mana, is it not? What would happen, let's say, if it simply disappear?"

_The result would be catastrophic…_Inside Takeru knew of the consequence if he drag on the battle too long. A mage's mana supply is not infinite. It was a concept well taught by his combat instructor in his Corneria days. Especially in this case, when not only temporal but also special manipulation had been added to the barrier, any damages which was done to the field of battle would, undoubtedly, manifest itself in the real world once the spell is lifted, by will or not. As the priestess' wolf shikigami and Takeru's spells had bulldozed through much of the buildings, the result would not be pretty. And the blonde could only imagine the horror it would spread among the citizens of Kiromachi. _It would make the news, most likely, and I would probably be called in by MCA (Magical Central Authority) agents for interrogation, possibly having my apprentice license revoked…_such would be the gravity of the situation, Takeru thought in his mind. The scenario is very unfavorable to him at the moment, and he already dispelled his battle gear back to his regular clothes to conserve what little mana he had left, yet still need more to restore the battleground to the way it was before lifting the temporal and spatial dislocation.

"Judging from your silence, my proposal has become more…desirable to you, hasn't it?"

On one hand the blonde could not let this crazy criminal roam free, but on the other he did not have the energy left to deal with her. He was out of options, truly between a rock and a hard place. Only two alternatives remain…

"One, you can let me go, and use whatever mana you can scrape from yourself and the surrounding to rectify the damages. The townspeople won't be disturbed, but you will have a dangerous criminal on the loose, with potentials to harm those who you wish to protect." Interestingly enough, it was his adversary who spelled them out to him. "Or two, you can kill me, and then rectify the damages. The townspeople won't be disturbed, _and_ you would have brought a dangerous criminal to justice. Now, I am interested to which path you take, western mage. Will you stand by your code of honor as a mage of Guardia to never take a life? Or will you commit the necessary evil, to stain your hands red with the blood of your enemy to protect those who you care about? Choose wisely, western mage, for time is of the essence. AHAHAHAHAHA!" As if delving into insanity, the priestess laughed with such crudeness and cruelty, head turned to the spectacled blonde, observing his every movement, every breath, with such lustful enjoyment which could only be best described as an orgy. High and drunk from elation, she awaited her judgment from the seventeen-year-old Takeru Winston Dansforth Takaishi, Corneria graduate class of 2006; current occupation: licensed apprentice mage.

* * *

Until next time.

Kibou no Hane


End file.
